Shadow Zone (5 page)

“What else?” Josh said.

Melis turned around. “Nothing else. That’s all we can see here. We need to see the rest of this pane.” She looked at Hannah. “Is it possible to bring it up in one piece?”

Hannah thought for a moment. “It would have been easier with both submersibles, but we might be able to pull it off.” She looked at Matthew and Josh, and they each nodded in response.

Kyle chuckled. “Somebody better tell the Discovery Channel to get their asses back here!”

Laughter exploded from the other members of team. But Hannah noticed that Melis didn’t smile. She was still transfixed by the colorful images projected in front of them.

Hannah stepped closer to her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I want to know
more.
Hannah, I heard somewhere that you have a photographic memory. Is that true?”

“Yes, for what it’s worth.”

“It would be worth a good deal to me right now. Did you see anything down there that isn’t here in front of me?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. It’s not that easy. It takes a hell of a lot of concentration.”

“You don’t want to do it.”

She shook her head. “I’d rather not rely on mental hijinks. Let me bring up the trellis and let you see for yourself. Okay?”

Melis nodded. “I’m just impatient.” She finally looked away from the screen. “And I think I’m a little frightened. That’s what happens when a dream comes true. It’s been so many years. This could be it, Hannah. The last piece of the puzzle . . .”

Zabyd Province
Afghanistan

Vincent Gadaire climbed out of the armored Hummer and ignored the sand blowing across his face and hair. His half dozen guards and associates wore thick scarves, but he could not let his newest client see anything but strength and supreme confidence. He was also aware that the boldness of his strikingly handsome face was one of his chief assets, and he knew better than to hide his strengths.

“Welcome, Mr. Gadaire!” General Fetssel stood on a hillside that served to block some of the cutting winds. Fetssel was a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a mustache to match. Although his dozen or so uniformed men wore scarves, Fetssel did not.

Gadaire smiled. The general, of course, knew a thing or two about leadership. “Thank you for meeting me, General. I’m sorry it was on such short notice, but I’ve found that the longer in advance I set up a meeting, the greater chance there is of security leaks.”

Fetssel nodded. “I understand. But I’m disappointed your lady friend isn’t with you. Her beauty is almost legendary.”

“Anna chose to sit out this meeting. I wouldn’t want her to distract you from the demonstration I have planned.”

“Ah, very wise. You’re aware of my situation?”

“I’m aware.” Gadaire had been put in touch with Fetssel by a satisfied former customer who had outlined the general’s needs. The general had allied himself with local insurgents, with whom he hoped to overthrow the fragile government and instate himself as leader. There were obstacles in his path, of course.

“We’re prepared to pay well if you can give us what we need.”

“General, I understand that remote-controlled aircraft have been a problem for your friends. These drones have most of the countryside under constant surveillance, and without warning, they fire missiles on your allies.”

“That is correct.”

“Then I have the solution to your problem. It wouldn’t have been wise to bring you within close proximity of the merchandise because of those drones we were just discussing. My equipment tells me there are two overhead right now, and they may be watching our meeting.”

“So where are your toys?”

“About two miles from here.” Gadaire pushed a button on his cell phone, and after a moment, a high-pitched whistling sound echoed from the west. He pointed to a pair of objects rocketing upward. “There. They can be remote-controlled, but you’re better off using them in autopilot mode. They will seek and destroy any drones in—”

Gadaire’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out and glanced at the screen. “Forgive me, but I have to take this.”

Fetssel scowled. “We’re in the midst of a business demonstration, Gadaire.”

“And I promise you’ll be very impressed, and I wouldn’t take this call unless it was a matter of life or death. I’ll be back with you in just a moment.” He turned and stepped away as he pushed the
TALK
button. “This had better be important, Devlin,” he said through set teeth. “You know where I am and what I’m negotiating. I told Fetssel this call had to be life or death, and it will be if you’ve embarrassed me for nothing.”

“You’ll want to hear this,” Devlin said. “I just heard from our contact on the
Copernicus.
He thinks they found it.”

“He
thinks
?”

“He couldn’t talk long. He was afraid of being discovered. But they’re going to follow up with another dive tomorrow morning, and he’s pretty sure it will give you exactly what you’ve been wanting.”

Yes.
Gadaire’s hand tightened on the phone as excitement surged through him. “I’m flying to Dublin tonight. I need our team to meet me there.”

“Which team? The scientists? Or our own men?”

“Both. We’ll need everyone on this.” Gadaire looked back at the general, who was staring coldly at him. He wanted to tell him to go screw himself. The cash he was going to pry out of Fetssel was small change compared to what was beckoning on the horizon at Marinth. This could be bigger and more powerful than anything he’d ever been involved in before. “And make damn sure you choose men who won’t be squeamish no matter who they come up against.” He added grimly, “When I tell them to pull the trigger, they’d better not hesitate.”

Marinth Underwater
Archaeological Site
Atlantic Ocean

Hannah flexed her fingers inside the controller glove and looked at the robotic arms outside
Conner Two
’s triangular side portholes. The metallic fingers flexed in time with her own, without any apparent lag. The gloves sensed subtle physiological cues that enabled the controller to anticipate the wearer’s movements, and it was not uncommon for Hannah to see the robotic hands performing movements before she had even fully executed them herself. Although she would have loved to take credit for the controller, it was actually the brainchild of a brilliant young kinesiologist from Cornell who still e-mailed her weekly software updates as he refined his creation.

Matthew and Josh were at
Conner Two
’s controls, piloting the minisub down to the ocean floor. Matthew squinted at the color monitor trained at the artifacts below them. “The GPS stamp says it happened around thirty feet from here. Any of this look familiar, Josh?” He glanced slyly at him. “Why am I asking you? You’re so blind that you bumped into the damn thing.”

Josh scowled. “Lay off. It could have happened to you.”

Matthew had spent most of the journey torturing Josh about the accident the day before, and although Josh had responded in good humor, Hannah could tell he’d had enough. Time to step in and stop it.

“Josh’s right. It was an accident and it should be—What’s that?”

A jarring, a subtle whump, on the submersible’s port side.

Her gaze flew to the controls. “What’s happening?”

Another jarring. Stronger this time, from the rear.

“It’s not mechanical.” Matthew was looking out the front and side viewing ports. “I think something’s hitting us.”

Hannah pulled her hands from the controller gloves. She reached up to the instrument panel and flipped on all of the exterior lights. She powered up the six HD video cameras, offering views in every direction.

Whump.

“What the—” Hannah squinted at the monitor. “Good God, it’s a dolphin. I think it’s hitting us with his tail.”

“Several dolphins, maybe half a dozen,” Matthew said. “I’ve got ’em on sonar.”

Hannah looked at the sonar screen. Several blips circled them, moving over and under as they moved through the water. “This is bizarre. They’ve always given us a wide berth down here. They’ve never hit us before.”

Whump.

Josh looked out the starboard port. “And it’s not just one. They’re all doing it. Do you think they’re playing with us?”

It was a possibility, she supposed. It was true Pete and Susie could be playful. But there was something . . . determined about the assault by these dolphins. “I don’t know.” She nibbled at her lower lip. “Let me get Melis on the horn. She needs to see this.”

While Hannah established contact with the surface, the dolphins struck their submersible three more times. Melis’s voice finally came over their headsets.

She sounded surprised. “Are you on the ocean floor already?”

“Not yet. I wanted you to see this. Do you have feeds from all of our cameras?”

Hannah knew that Melis at her bank of HD monitor screens would have an even better view than they had down in
Conner Two.
“All feeds accounted for,” Melis said. “What are you seeing?”

Whump.

“Did you get that?” Hannah asked.

“Yes.” Melis sounded stunned. “A dolphin just slammed into you.”

“It’s happened several times in the past few minutes. There are six or seven dolphins following us down. They’re all deliberately striking
Conner Two.
Sometimes with their tails, sometimes with their entire bodies. I’ve never seen anything like it. Have you?”

“No, not with a submersible. But look how their mouths are opening and closing, almost like they’re popping their jaws. That’s a sign of aggression. Whatever is going on, it’s not a game to them.” Melis’s tone was serious. “Look, you’ve been lucky with your past dealings with the dolphins, but it may be time to back away. Forget about all that media image of sweet, cute Flipper. They’re not like us, and we have to learn to coexist with them on their terms. Dolphins are fascinating creatures, but they can be dangerous.”

Hannah flinched as a tail slapped angrily at the port closest to her. Violence. “It didn’t start until we got close to the site. It’s almost as if they don’t want us to get near it.”

“Too bad for them, because we’re heading right toward it,” Josh said. “I’m going to power up the Marinth light towers.” He hit a switch that remotely activated the large towers of illumination on the ocean floor. He stiffened in shock. “Oh, my God!”

There were thousands of dolphins swarming, gliding over the ruins of Marinth.

“What’s happening here, Hannah?” Matthew whispered.

She shook her head in disbelief. “I wish I knew.” The sight took her breath away. She had never seen so many dolphins in one place before. The dolphins moved erratically, and their jaws opened and closed in the same disturbing manner as the ones that had assaulted the submersible.

Hannah spoke into her headset. “Melis, are you seeing this?”

“Yes, but I’m not believing it. Tell me you’re recording all these feeds.”

“Every single one in the magic of high definition. And two angles in 3-D.”

“Good. I wish I were down there.”

“You could have had my seat,” Matthew said. “Something about all this creeps me out.”

“I know what you mean,” Hannah said. “Let’s get what we came for. Head for the GPS coordinates of where we cracked up yesterday.”

Whump.

Josh gripped the stick harder. “That was another dolphin. And there are more heading toward us.”

Whump.

Another jarring hit.

Whump.

Again.

Whump!

The last blow rocked the minisub as three dolphins struck it in tandem.

“Get out of there,” Melis said. “Get to the surface now.”

Whump.

Matthew shot an inquiring glance at Hannah.

Hannah shook her head. “No. Keep going. We only have one shot at this.”

Whump.

Hannah pulled on a pair of 3-D goggles. Her view, generated by the video cameras mounted outside, changed with the degree by which she turned her head. She slipped her hands back into the controller gloves and flexed her fingers to activate the mechanical arms.

“What are you doing?” Josh asked.

“I’m going to try to swat them away.”

“Good luck,” Matthew said. “Those dolphins weigh over a thousand pounds.”

“Just keep going.” Through the goggles, Hannah could see four dolphins heading toward her from the right. She extended the right mechanical arm and waved it back and forth, effectively blocking the vessel’s side from another tandem blow.

The dolphins swerved away at the last second.

She blocked another blow from the left. And another after that. “Almost there, guys?”

“Another hundred feet.”

“Hurry. I think I spooked them with the mechanical arms, but it may not last.”

After a few moments, Matthew’s eyes narrowed at the color monitor trained on the structures below them. “The GPS stamp says it happened around thirty feet from here. Does this look familiar, Hannah?”

“You’re asking the wrong person.” Hannah spoke into her headset. “Melis?”

“I think these were the gardens of a school,” Melis said. “An institute of higher learning.”

Matthew chuckled, but there was still perspiration beading his brow. “University of Marinth.”

“I see it,” Josh said. “It’s at ten o’clock. I’ll take us over.”

Josh piloted the minisub over to the fallen wall that had almost crushed them the day before, then used a touchpad to aim a spotlight over the area. “There. There’s our trellis and colored glass. Are you getting this, Melis?”

“Yes, that’s it. I can’t tell how much more there is under the silt. Got your leaf blower handy?”

“I’m already on it.” Hannah extended the left mechanical arm and activated a compressed-air nozzle mounted on one of the steel fingers. Silt scattered across the trellis, exposing the intricately carved stone framework containing hundreds of interlocking pieces of colored crystal.

For the first time, they were able to take a good look at the entire artifact. It measured approximately twelve feet by eight feet, cut from a dark brown slab of granite less than an inch thick. The bridges between the colored translucent pieces were approximately an eighth of an inch thick, and a few of them had broken, leaving gaping holes in the elaborate jigsaw puzzle.