“It’s for the best I suppose,” Oscar replied philosophically.
“I suppose,” Greg said glumly. “Here, you have control. I have to go below for a moment.”
Greg hurried down to his cabin, slipped his hand into the side pocket of his battered old holdall and withdrew his faithful Garmin 12. He anxiously pressed the ON button and waited while it slowly came to life and located the ship’s position. He flicked through the memory to stored waypoints. His hand trembled slightly with excitement. The exact position of the wreck was still there. He switched the little instrument off and returned it to the holdall. He was smiling when he rejoined Greg on the bridge.
“So what makes you so pleased with yourself?” Oscar questioned.
“Oh nothing important.” He looked at his friend. “Well actually I was just wondering if you fancy another little adventure?”
Oscar turned to Marion.
“No thank you very much. The only little adventure I have in mind at this moment has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with gold!” he emphasised; reaching out he took Marion’s hand, squeezing it gently as he led her from the bridge. “Just thought you might be interested!” Greg called after them good-humouredly.
“You are in command,” Oscar instructed. They didn’t look back as they left the bridge.
Greg was still smiling as he resumed control of his ship, his mind already busy dreaming of how best to take advantage of his precious secret.
“I’ll wait until the honeymoon is over my friend, then we’ll see!” he muttered under his breath. He was still smiling as he casually scanned the radar.
“Well just look at that,” he said suddenly as the blip of a large vessel some six miles away appeared on the screen.
Alex, apparently dozing in the navigator’s chair, opened his eyes.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?” he queried.
Greg pointed ahead excitedly to a large passenger liner as it emerged from the early evening heat haze. “Look over there,” I’ll warrant that’s the cruise ship The World.” He looked towards Alex, “and with all those arms at the bottom of the ocean at least those passengers are a bit more secure now eh?”
Alex stood up.
“So it is,” he confirmed softly before settling back into his chair, “and I just wonder how long it will be before some other maniac threatens all our lives again?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Albert Able lives and works his “improvise and adapt lifestyle” on the island of Jersey and on the surrounding seas. Founder of a boat building company when in his early twenties he still delivers and skippers boats to European and Mediterranean destinations. Following this with a breif period in the London Stock Exchange and consequently Hotel Development on His native jersey.
“Throughout my life I have experienced the thrill of the peaks of success and misery of the troughs of financial famine and disaster then back to prosperity and the benefits it can offer only to tumble back into famine again”
He counts Ian Fleming and Jack Higgins as his biggest influences.
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated as ever, to my long-suffering family
And especially to the handful of close friends, who regularly pitched in when needed and without whose support I would never have succeeded.
Thank you all.
See you in the pub?
Albert.