Jemma tutted in his ear. “That’s tomorrow’s grid. Stay put. You’ll hash it all up.”
“Already there,” he responded, still following the fissure, which, to be fair, was the only interesting feature he’d found in three nights.
“I have you on radar,” Cassidy said. “But consider yourself reprimanded. Jemma’s gonna slap you crimson when we get back up top.”
Bodie measured the widening gap. “Promises, promises. You gonna use your hand, Jem, or your flippers?”
“Stop it.”
“I think I’d prefer the flippers.” Cassidy laughed.
Bodie grinned. Levity was one of the things that kept him sane, kept him moving forward with the knowledge that all of this was being done, essentially, against his will. And if that wasn’t enough — he’d actually come to Heidi’s aid earlier, saving her embarrassment. Damn, that’s confusing.
His single light shone dead ahead from the front of his helmet, illuminating particles floating in the water. He unhooked a more powerful flashlight and waved it across the area. The fissure was stark white in the new light, jagged and partly hidden by sediment. It appeared to be narrowing again, and Bodie thought of moving on, but it wasn’t narrowing. It was the deposit buildup. Bodie dug around, still following the tear, and then Cassidy and Jemma materialized out of the gloom, using the comms to let him know they were alongside.
“Thought we’d take a break and join you.”
“Could be nothing.”
Bodie showed them the fissure, then waved his flashlight ahead to see how far the opening extended. The underwater world revealed itself for just a moment, darkness pinpointed by hidden eyes and flitting silhouettes. The fissure ran farther down, out of sight. Bodie checked his depth and air gauges.
“Okay, for now.”
The gap widened enough so that Bodie could put his head inside, then his shoulders. They dug furiously, causing an underwater cyclone that impaired vision. The farther Bodie slipped inside the fissure, the more excited he got, but he remained aware that they were descending meter by meter, farther and farther toward the bottom of the lake.
“Ten more minutes,” Cassidy warned.
Bodie heard her, but he had to keep digging. Like a dog who’d lost his favorite bone, he dug and dug, moving on when his gloved hands came up against solid rock. The strange sensation when his fists punched through didn’t register at first.
But the fissure broadened and Bodie slipped inside, purely by accident. His arms kept going, encountering no resistance. The angle of his body told him he was underneath the solid rock of the lake now, having crossed a thick lip. He forged on, swimming ahead, and heard Cassidy close behind.
“You pinpointed it?” he asked.
“Jemma’s staying behind to make sure.”
“No sign of the Chinese? From what I observed on the visit to their camp they appeared to know what they’re doing, while the Bratva are clawing around in the dark.”
“No, but dude, they could be a meter away and you wouldn’t see them.”
He knew that, just wanted to remind Cassidy of the threat. He was glad she was with him. Nothing like sharing a new experience with a friend. Time flowed by like the passing of water. Bodie swam with a strong breaststroke, pausing occasionally to cast the glow of his flashlight all around.
They touched the far end of the fissure.
“You’re kidding!” Bodie had been sure they’d found something.
“Air low,” Cassidy said, the comms starting to crackle. “We need to leave now.”
Bodie ignored her, aiming downward, kicking his legs and searching for the farthest corner. The space closed again up ahead, narrowing down. Cassidy slapped his shoulder and pointed toward the roof.
“No time!”
He nodded irascibly, more frustrated than ever. With a last scissor thrust of his legs he found the spot where ceiling met floor.
Nothing. Just one more dead end.
He treaded water, still disbelieving. Jemma crackled across the comms, asking where they were. Cassidy swam in front now and pushed him away. Bodie’s head went up and he saw something odd.
Another fissure, but in the wall above, higher than he might have expected. He started swimming up to investigate, but Cassidy got full in his face and manhandled him away. Bodie came to his senses, seeing the air gauge dangerously low. Together they swam strongly, collected Jemma, and made their way toward the surface.
“Something down there,” Bodie panted.
“Yeah, and you’d have joined it forever with your bullishness.”
“No time to waste.” Bodie didn’t acknowledge the reprimand. “We need to get back down there. Fast.” He broke the surface and started swimming determinedly toward the shore, suddenly brimming with excitement and purpose. It was all he could do to keep from cheering.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
As dawn broke, Bodie paced the shore, desperate to be back in the water. The SEALs had stepped in, recommending a few hours rest for the trio, but as the time approached when they could reenter, Bodie couldn’t stop speculating about the Chinese and how close they might be to locating the fissure. If these operatives were a splinter group loosely associated with the government, as Heidi conjectured, then he could only assume they wanted Atlantis for the same reason that the Americans did — to claim and use its riches, its potentially advanced technology. Whoever won the race to Atlantis might theoretically rule the world.
Then Bodie, Cassidy, and Jemma were back in the water, swimming quickly to the original fissure and squeezing inside. All the way they kept an eye open for the enemy, checked their radar for figures, but came up with nothing. Still, it didn’t make Bodie feel any more comfortable.
Instead of angling down, Bodie swam in a horizontal direction, mindful of what he’d found the previous evening. At first, the gloom misled him, but then he felt his way up the wall and saw the same opening he’d seen earlier. It was undoubtedly a fissure.
This time, they quickly found the wider end, and all three fitted in easily. They swam into a narrow cavern.
“Underwater caves,” Jemma said. “Nothing special for the Azores.”
“Gotta be unexplored,” Bodie said. “Judging by the amount of silt we pulled out of there.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“What the hell do we know about debris buildup? Anyone?”
“It wasn’t big on the curriculum at my high school,” Cassidy said.
Bodie swept the cave with light, spotting an opening below. Swimming down, he called for the others to follow. It was barely a meter wide, and led to a tunnel.
“Follow me.”
“Really?” Jemma breathed out heavily. “I’m not comfortable with that.”
“Go before me,” Cassidy offered. “I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
Bodie performed a quick recon, ensuring all was well before venturing inside. Sure enough, the walls were close. Twice, his tank clanged on a sharp rock, making him reevaluate how strong it was. Twice, he forged on.
Three minutes felt like a lifetime, but they emerged from the tunnel into another chamber, this one with relatively clear water. Bodie spied some rubble buildup on the floor and dived down to investigate.
Piles of white rock, bare and smooth. He swore. All he wanted was a face, a carving, a bloody inscription.
A signpost would be even better.
Shrugging the frustration away with a small smile, he found another tunnel, this one angling downward and slightly wider. Their air supply was a quarter spent. Carefully, they levered their bodies inside. Another three minutes of careful jostling, shunting, and propelling and they felt a sharper tugging in the flow around them. Suddenly, they were caught in the current.