Daedalus looked up from his tablet and frowned. “No, it will be too obvious. We don’t want to spook them into running. Let us do some work, and perhaps, as with in the Azores, we can be on hand to reap the spoils.”
“I will instruct the Captain to continue course for Bimini Road then.”
Daedalus nodded. “Yes, but tell him to maintain distance. We want to be nearby, not on the site or again, they will become suspicious. Have him take us within striking distance.”
“Agreed.” Phillipo paused, obviously struggling with some thoughts, before speaking again. “Daedalus, I have to ask: our company is spending a lot of money in pursuit of these people, all for the Atlantis myth. Do you think it to be worthwhile? There are other less fantastic, but much more concrete, treasures — the kind that have allowed us to build our fortune in the first place. There is a war going on in Syria right now, for example. We could—”
Daedalus’ face flushed red. “Enough, Phillipo! These people, especially this Carter Hunt-have somehow stumbled across a trail of finds that could lead to one of the most exciting archaeological discoveries of the millennium. Atlantis!” He leaned up in his lounger and spread his arms wide. “Can you imagine it? The precious metals — the gold? The unknown artifacts awaiting discovery? It would be the find of a lifetime, brother. A lifetime.”
Phillipo’s mouth turned down at the corners. “If it is even real, Daedalus. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other treasures whose existence is not debatable. While we float around out here, literally burning money by the minute to keep this ship running, other artifact seekers are making moves on solid pieces that, until now, have always been our bread and butter.”
Daedalus scowled and rose from his lounger. “If the accomplishments of our company are insufficient for you, dear brother, then please, feel free to go your own way. You should be more than comfortable from this point on. Unless, that is, your penchant for gambling has gotten the better of you. Down on your luck in Monte Carlo on your last visit, were you?”
An awkward silence passed while the two brothers stared one another down, then Daedalus continued.
“At any rate, I myself am driven by a genuine interest in humanity’s past, not avarice.” He waved his arm about the opulent yacht. “I feel I have done well enough for myself to this point to be able to indulge in a little hobby. But again, Phillipo, if you disagree, you are free to resign your position with Treasure, Inc., and we will go our own separate ways. Professionally, of course. I do still hope I’d be invited to your next family gathering.”
At length, Philppo replied. “For now I am happy in my role with the company. And who knows, maybe our treasure hunting friends will find us something of value, even if it turns out not to be from Atlantis. A profit is a profit is a profit, am I right?”
Daedalus gave a slow nod. “Of course.”
“I will visit the bridge personally to convey the orders to the Captain.”
“Do that. And Phillipo?”
“Yes?”
“Do not make suggestions about our company’s direction again. Until, that is, we are dining in the Hall of Poseidia, walking the golden streets of Atlantis. Then, I will hear you out. Until such time, the strategic course for Treasure, Inc. has been set and is no longer a matter of discussion. Is that clear?”
Phillipo stood there holding the tablet, staring at his brother with a slack jawed look.
“Is it clear?”
Phillipo let the hand holding the tablet drop down to his side. “Yes, it is clear.” Then he turned and strode away toward the staircase that led to the bridge.
Chapter 20
Hunt steadied the pathetically anemic beam of his mini-light in his shaking hand. He simply could not believe what he was looking at. I must have nitrogen narcosis, he thought to himself. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a diver had succumbed to the so-called rapture of the deep and imagined fantastic visions deep underwater. Divers had even been known to offer their breathing mouthpieces to passing fish because they thought they needed air.
But Hunt knew this was no illusion. It was too solid, and he was far too experienced a scuba diver to have that vivid of a hallucination.
He was looking at the top of a pyramid.
The feeble light from his beam glinted off what appeared to be a crystal surface. Astounding, Hunt thought. Absolutely amazing! The structure was massive, descending into the dark depths beyond the reach of his meager light.
It took his next breath to tear his mind from the exotic sight. It was hard to pull. Air! He clawed at his pressure gauge and read the diaclass="underline" deep in the red. He would be out of air, his tank completely dry, with any breath now. Time to go!
Hunt mentally kicked himself for being so complacent, so lax about his situation, as he physically kicked for the surface far above. He remembered to check his depth gauge so that he could report to the others on how deep the pyramid was: 150 feet. Very deep, at the edge of what was safe for the recreational diving gear they had with them. Still, it was doable. Kicking hard for the surface while keeping his mouth open to avoid an air embolism — the expansion of the lungs due to decreasing water pressure while going from deep to shallow water — Hunt allowed his mind to wander. He had so many questions. How big was the pyramid? From what he could see of it, plenty big, maybe the size of a three-story building if it was intact all the way down, but who knew? What was a pyramid doing here at the Bimini Road, concealed beneath a capstone identical in shape, though not in scale, to a gold piece found in a statuette of Anubis in the Azores? What, if anything was inside the pyramid?
He only knew one thing for sure as he continued to kick toward the small oval of bright light that represented the capstone opening to the shallow seabed above. They had to get fresh tanks and come back down here for a full dive.
On the seaplane, Hunt explained to Maddy the dangers of the dive. The deep depth, the unknown factor of the pyramid itself, having to exit through the narrow capstone opening. But despite acknowledging these hazards, Maddy insisted on making the dive with Hunt and Jayden.
The three of them set up their gear with fresh air tanks, and then prepared to hit the water again. Hunt rummaged around the plane’s safety equipment and found a full-size waterproof flashlight that would suffice as a real dive light, and added it to his gear. Sitting backwards with the door open, Hunt glanced all around the plane, checking for any boat traffic. He saw a large vessel on the other side of the main Bimini Road, perhaps a mile away. High above them, a small airplane passed by. Double-checking the seaplane’s anchor, he gave the go-ahead for his team to enter the water.
Once at the open capstone, the three divers conducted a quick check of their equipment as before. Satisfied all was in order, Hunt led the way down through the narrow opening into the hidden blue hole below. Once they were clear of the stones that jutted down, Hunt straightened his body out and began dropping down feet first. Jayden and Maddy followed suit. Hunt shined his powerful dive light beam all around, but so far it was as if they had entered a liquid void. The only direction in which he could see anything was up, to the Bimini Road’s underside.
The trio of explorers dropped down through the inky void. Hunt’s light beam was flanked by the weaker backup light rays of Jayden and Maddy. Hunt kept his own small backup light he’d used on the first dive in reserve in case his primary light stopped working. Around 100 feet down, Maddy had to pause the descent in order to equalize the pressure in her ears to avoid pain in the ears from increasing water pressure. Hunt and Jayden were able to do this while on the move, but Maddy, having less experience, needed to remain in one place while she pinched her nose and breathed into it until she felt her ears pop, relieving the pain. Once that was done, the three of them continued their descent.