“What are you doing back up here. Haven’t you broken through yet?” LJ demanded, from his vantage point on the flying bridge.
Dillon looked at Chapman, and raised his eyebrows. “His impatience is legendary, you know. And, I might add, running true to form.” Dillon said, glancing down at the Omega Sea Master on his wrist, and then looking up at LJ, shouted, “You’d better hold on up there.” “What’s that you say?” LJ called back.
But, before Dillon had a chance to speak. The four charges at the tunnel entrance went off one after the other, the explosions sending shock waves rippling up through the water. The power cruiser pitched and rolled as the surface of the sea lifted, spray scattering, foam appeared, moved outwards in concentric circles over the increased swell. They stood at the rail watching until the activity dwindled.
Dillon lit a cigarette, with the gold lighter that Tatiana had given him for his last birthday.
“Malakoff, you can go to hell, wherever you are.”
“I’ll second that, Jake. But, he’s conspicuous by his absence, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yeah, and a very good reason for us to watch our backs.” Dillon replied, and then added, “That’s it then. Let’s get moving.”
As they were getting their diving gear on again. Chapman said, “What happens now? I mean when we’ve got through the tunnel?”
“If luck is on our side, and Nathan Cunningham is right. We’ll surface inside the cavern, and then be able to go straight to the U-boat. If that is the case, then there’s no problem. The conning tower should be out of the water, and our way in fairly easy.” Dillon zipped up his buoyancy jacket, and adjusted his weight belt.
“Nathan reported that the sub was completely flooded. So, hopefully there shouldn’t be any silt build up, and the water should be relatively clear in there.” Chapman said, as he pulled on his fins.
Dillon stood at the edge of the dive platform. “If at any time you think it’s too dangerous to proceed, for whatever reason. Just signal me, and I’ll follow you back.”
Chapman was standing with his back to the water, made the signal for, okay, by pinching his thumb and forefinger together, and the next moment dropped backwards into the water. Dillon followed him down to the seabed, and as he approached the rock face, was instantly aware of motion in the water, of the ice cold outflow, that hadn’t been there before. Chapman hovered just to the right of the newly created tunnel entrance, and when Dillon joined him, he could actually feel the current pushing past him. Chapman looked at Dillon, and shook his head. He pointed up, and Dillon couldn’t accept that.
He turned to go into the tunnel, was aware of Chapman’s restraining hand on his arm, briefly looked round, and then managed to pull free and powered himself through the small opening. Once inside, a cloak of darkness wrapped itself around him in a claustrophobic embrace. Dillon instinctively drew back against the smooth curved granite stone, allowing the icy water to wash over him for a few seconds. He switched on his lamp, and shone the powerful beam around the interior of the tunnel. As he swept the powerful light back and forth, it cast long shadows over the black rock.
Dillon was staggered by the size of the tunnel. It was just as Nathan had described it. At least thirty feet in diameter, and as straight as an arrow, for as far as the torch beam shone, and then into the darkness beyond. He was about to go on, when Chapman appeared at his side with two spare air tanks and a nylon guide line. He gave the okay sign, and then tied one end of the line to one of the air tanks, and the other to his weight belt. Wedged the air tank between two large cobbles, and placed the other one on top. When he’d finished, he tapped Dillon on the forearm, and gave the signal to move off. Into the tunnel.
After two minutes, Dillon stopped and checked his dive computer, they were still at a depth of fifty-five feet, and had twenty minutes of air left. If Nathan Cunningham was right, then they’d have another two and a half minutes before reaching the other end of the tunnel. Glancing up, he could just make out Chapman’s torch beam up ahead, as he swam on into the darkness.
Dillon kicked off the bottom, silt swirled around, making the black water even more murky. When he eventually caught up with the archaeologist, he was just disappearing through a narrow opening. Dillon shone his lamp forward, could just make out Chapman’s fins, and followed him through the opening between the fallen slabs of granite.
Dillon slowly came up inside the enormous cavern. As he broke the surface of the water, the powerful torch beam cast long shadows that danced and flickered around the interior of the subterranean hall. Chapman was treading water about six feet away, he pulled his mask off, and spat out his regulator.
“Have you ever seen anything quite so awesome in your whole life?” He shouted. His voice sounded hollow as it echoed around the cavern.
“No, never. Look at the size of those stalactites up there.” Dillon swept his torch beam across the dripping ceiling. “They’ve been growing for thousands of years. What an amazing place.”
Chapman was slowly swimming across the deep and tranquil lake. And the next moment, his torch beam picked up the conning tower of U-683.
“Over here, Jake. I’ve found the sub.”
Dillon swam over, and joined the archaeologist, who was holding onto a section of the bridge rail, that had been forced and buckled down into the water.
Grabbing hold of it, Dillon said, “Look at the size of this thing. And to think, it came through that tunnel to this final place.” Dillon shone his torch up the side of the black metal structure. As the beam swung across it, the U-boat’s insignia appeared.
“Just like Nathan said. A leaping red devil.” Chapman remarked.
Dillon took off his fins, and hooked them over the end of the rail. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.”
Chapman, followed him up the ladder to the top of the conning tower. They held on to the bridge rail beside the gun, and Dillon actually thought that he could hear something, sounds coming from inside the boat. He glanced at Chapman, and the archaeologist shook his head. Dillon knew that he wasn’t happy about the desecration of a war burial site, but he couldn’t accept that as a good enough reason for not going on. He stepped over the rail, and almost jumped clean out of his gear. He gasped as the beam of white light, captured the almost perfect skeleton on the other side of the confined deck area. On second glance, Dillon noticed that part of the rib cage was shattered, and that a long twisted piece of metal was all that was supporting the skeleton in a sitting position.
Dillon moved to the hatch in the centre of the tower, leaned over the edge, and shone his torch down into the gloom of the main control room. As Nathan had reported, it was completely flooded; and there was no way, that he could go through the circular opening with air tanks on his back. Unzipping his buoyancy jacket, he slipped it off, complete with tanks, and lowered everything down into the icy water inside the cramped interior.
It was dark in there, far murkier than he had expected. He let go of the ladder rail, and as if in slow motion stepped down into the water, got a firm foothold and put the jacket back on, bit down on the regulator, and gently went under. The light from his torch beam glinted off of the glass faces of the gauges and dials, as he moved around to get his bearings.
A moment later, he was half swimming, half pulling himself through the control room to the forward hatch. On reaching it, Dillon could see that it had been sealed off. The watertight door appeared to be completely seized up. Dillon looked around for something to use as a lever, saw at least a dozen rifles scattered around in the sediment, and picked up one of them off the deck.