Duncan watched as Matilda manipulated the arms until one of the chests was inside the trunk of the sub. Duncan pressed the button again and the trunk retracted, sealing itself tight. Now Jackson hurried to open a trapdoor in the floor of the craft. In a pool of water below them was the chest. After some fiddling with the ancient padlock, Jackson managed to pry the lid open. Inside was one of the biggest diamonds any of them had ever seen.
“The Azreal Cache!” Jackson cried.
“Also known as my early retirement!” Blancard exclaimed. Duncan could hear his men cheering in the background.
Brand reappeared. “OK, team. Let’s grab all the chests and get them to the surface on the double. You should be very proud of yourselves. You stopped Simon’s plan before it even got started!”
Suddenly, there was a tremendous jolt to the sub and the children were knocked about. Duncan slammed his head into the window.
“What was that?” Matilda said.
Jackson crawled into his harpoon gun chair and swiveled about. “Uh-oh,” he said.
Duncan spun the Ali around and came nose-to-nose with a second submersible. He could see Simon, Albert Nesbitt, an overgrown man with a hook for a hand, an older woman, and two-dozen squirrels inside.
“He’s hailing us,” Ruby said. She snarled and flipped a switch.
“Hello, old friends,” Simon’s voice said. It was filled with rage and bitterness.
“Too late, Heathcliff. The diamonds are ours,” Matilda taunted.
“My name is Simon!” the boy bellowed so loudly it shook Duncan’s eardrums. “I knew you fools would lead me to the Azreal diamonds. To be completely honest, we had no idea where they were, but considering Mr. Brand’s proactive style, I knew you fools would go hunting for them first and we could just follow you. Now get out of my way.”
“Not this time,” Flinch said. “If you want them, you’re going to have to take them.”
“Not a problem,” Simon said. “My associate can handle that.”
Simon’s goon slipped into a set of gloves identical to Matilda’s, and suddenly the mechanical arms on Simon’s craft came to life. With one punch, the Muhammad Ali was thrown backward and crashed through the side of the Bom Jesus. Everyone inside the craft was jostled about like popping corn.
“What’s going on down there?” Agent Brand cried; his face appeared in the glass again.
“Simon is here and he’s after the diamonds,” Ruby replied.
“Matilda, time to put your gloves on,” Jackson said.
“My pleasure!” Matilda said. Soon she was swinging back at Simon’s ship, which had followed theirs out the side of the Bom Jesus. The mechanical fist glanced off of Simon’s sub, but the force was enough to knock it off balance.
Once Simon’s sub had righted itself, the two submersibles traded punches. One devastating blow after another knocked the little ships around at the bottom of the sea.
“I’ve got a question,” Ruby said. “I know the ship can handle a lot of pressure, but can it take a sucker punch from an identical submersible?” Another punch answered her question. It glanced off the side of the window, leaving a tiny, hairline crack.
“OK, that’s bad,” Flinch said to Duncan. “How about you get us out of here, buddy?”
Duncan gunned the engines to move the craft backward. But suddenly, a massive explosion from inside the Bom Jesus caused the submersible to fly forward, its instruments spinning and buzzing.
“What was that?” Jackson cried.
“Must be some of that gunpowder,” Matilda said.
“That’s not possible,” Ruby cried. “This ship sank more than two hundred years ago. Any gunpowder they had on board could never have survived this long underwater.”
There was another explosion, and the tiny craft was knocked about again.
“Tell that to the gunpowder,” Flinch said. “I think all this fighting around it is setting it off. We need to get the diamonds and get out of here fast.”
“The ship’s steering is out of whack!” Duncan cried as Simon’s sub closed in.
“Got any ideas, gadget boy?” Jackson shouted to Duncan.
Duncan was at a loss. If he had his abilities, he could shoot a spray of glue into Simon’s engines and gunk up the works. But he didn’t have any abilities. He was just a kid now. A normal kid who was beginning to have a panic attack. He felt fevered and flushed. Air in the craft seemed harder to come by, and then, suddenly, he knew what to do.
“Hang on,” Duncan said. “And hold your breath. I’m venting the compressed oxygen into the ballast tank. It’ll push the water out and we will rise fast. I just hope we have enough oxygen to breathe until we get to the surface.”
Duncan pushed a button and a red warning light flashed on the controls. A mighty flow of bubbles fired out of the back of the Muhammad Ali. It began to rise higher and higher toward the surface, leaving Simon and his gang below.
“Where are we going?” Matilda complained. “I’m not done with him yet!”
“I have no idea how many punches this craft can take, and I think we’ve had one too many, Wheezer,” Duncan said, pointing to the crack in the window. It had grown considerably.
“But what about the rest of the diamonds!” cried Jackson. “Simon will get them.”
“Yeah, we can’t leave now!” shouted Finch.
“The sub is broken,” said Duncan. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“See ya, NERDS,” Simon’s voice cackled over the speakers as the submersible rose higher and higher. “Thanks for leaving all these diamonds for me. It’s just so convenient that I can predict your moves at every turn.”
Brand’s face appeared in the glass. “We’ve been monitoring the situation from above. We’ll pick you up on the surface,” he said tersely.
Duncan felt his face light up with embarrassment. It was clear Brand was disappointed in them.
“Does someone need a lift?” Blancard’s friendly voice said over the communications system a few minutes later, as they bobbed to the surface near the S.S. Julia Child.
Duncan tried to smile, but all he could think of was Agent Brand’s disappointed face.
NICE TO SEE THAT YOU DID
NOT BURN THE HOUSE DOWN.
REALLY. I WAS WORRIED.
ALL RIGHT, NOW LET’S DO
SOME MORE CODE MAKING. YOU MAY
FIND THIS TEDIOUS, BUT THE TRUTH
IS YOU’RE REALLY GOING TO NEED
THIS STUFF WHEN THEY SEND YOU OUT
IN THE FIELD. CODES ARE, LIKE,
A REALLY BIG DEAL. NOW LET’S BUILD
ON WHAT WE LEARNED WITH THE
SUBSTITUTION CIPHER, BUT INSTEAD
OF SUBSTITUTING ONE LETTER FOR
ANOTHER, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS
HAVE A CAREFUL EYE.
THIS METHOD WAS CREATED
BY A GUY NAMED FRANCIS BACON,