"You need to see somebody. I don't have to tell you about PTSD."
"I've been putting it off."
"Don't put it off any longer. That's an order."
It felt like a defeat. "All right."
"What's the name of your friend with the boat?"
"Jeffrey Sexton. He owns a vessel that used to belong to the NOAA. Right now he's off the coast of Egypt researching Heracleion. He's well-equipped. State-of-the-art computer surveying equipment, a deep sea ROV and pretty much everything we'd need."
"What did you tell him?"
"Only that I'd come across a reference to a sunken city that was at least as old as Heracleion. I said I wanted to find it and that I would pay all the expenses. He knows I've done some serious diving. I didn't say anything about Atlantis or what we're looking for."
"If I decide to bring him on it won't be necessary for you to pay him. We have funds that can be used."
You should have thought of that, Selena's inner voice said.
Elizabeth continued. "I'll check out his background. If he clears, we'll set up the mission. Is there anything else?"
"No. Only that I really am sorry."
"Apology accepted. Make that appointment to see someone."
It could have been worse, the voice said.
CHAPTER 31
Stephanie ran a satellite scan of the ocean floor, using Selena's ideas about where to look. Near the Azores, she found regular shapes on the seabed that might be ruins. Whether or not they were the remains of Atlantis remained to be seen, but they were in the right place.
Everyone met in the ops center beneath Elizabeth's office to plan the mission.
"Selena's friend is a civilian," Elizabeth said. "His clearance checks out and he was a SEAL, so that makes it easier. However, I don't want him to know what we're really doing. If he does find out, we'll deal with it then. Do your best to conceal your real objective."
"Jeff won't be easy to fool," Selena said. "He's experienced and intelligent. When we find those ruins he's going to start asking a lot of questions. It won't take him long to put it together. I think you should count on him discovering it's Atlantis."
"I can live with that. The secrecy agreement will forbid him from releasing information about what you discover without permission. But I don't want him to know there's more to it."
"That shouldn't be too difficult."
"You said that he has an ROV on board?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes. The first thing to do is send it down and get some pictures. Scout the area. We can plan the dive after that."
"I don't want his people diving on the ruins. Selena, you're the only one I want going down there. If…" She stopped. "What?"
"I won't dive alone. It's suicide if it's deep. Someone has to be with me."
"That's easy," Lamont said. "I'll go with you."
"You can't go," Nick said. "Your lungs are shot up."
"Still breathing, aren't I? As long as I have good gear and use a little caution, it won't be a problem."
"When did you ever use caution?"
"Whenever you didn't. Means I've had plenty of practice."
Ronnie laughed out loud.
Elizabeth was concerned. "Lamont, are you sure you can handle this? It hasn't been that long since you were in the hospital."
"I'm fine, Director. It's the only practical solution if you don't want some civilian going down there with her."
"If there has to be someone with me, I'd rather it was Lamont," Selena said. "I can trust him. We've been down together before."
"I'll think about it," Elizabeth said.
"What's our primary objective?" Nick asked.
"To find the archive Sokolov mentioned in his letter. Even better, find the stone they used to put this mysterious energy to work."
"We're talking about a ruined city that disappeared thousands of years ago. It's going to be covered with silt. The chances of finding either one are about zero."
"We still have to look."
"What about the Russians?" Selena said.
"What about them?"
"My computer was in our room. Everything was on it. If they found it, they know as much as we do."
"There isn't anything we can do about it if they did. It means you have to stay alert out there. Treat it as a high risk mission."
"If they have Selena's computer, they'll show up on site," Nick said.
"It's possible."
"What are the rules of engagement if they do?"
"Stay out of their way if you can."
"And if we can't?"
"Do what you have to do," Elizabeth said, "but don't get caught doing it."
CHAPTER 32
The R/V Sexton's Dream gleamed white in the Egyptian sun, two hundred and thirty-five feet of ocean high tech. The bridge bristled with a complex array of antennas and radar. A tall mast flying an American flag on the aft deck added a Christmas tree of electronics.
A thick rectangular frame painted yellow jutted out over the water at the stern. The deck was crowded with equipment.
Several hundred yards away was another research vessel that dwarfed Sexton's Dream. The bridge sat on top of a superstructure that looked like a transplanted apartment house.
The launch carrying Nick and the others pulled up to a gangway that had been lowered on the starboard side. A muscular man about Nick's age and size waited for them on deck. He had brown, curly hair, a deep tan and a broad smile. He wore khaki pants, boat shoes and a red shirt open at the collar.
"Hi, Jeff," Selena called.
She waved at him, looking happy. Jeff waved back. Nick felt something ancient and hostile stir inside.
When they reached the top of the gangway steps, Selena hugged her friend.
"It's been too long," she said. "Jeffrey, this is my husband, Nick."
"A pleasure to meet you." His eyes were neutral as he studied Nick. His handshake was firm. He turned to Selena.
"I didn't know you were married."
"Late last year. We didn't send out invitations."
She introduced Lamont and Ronnie.
"Let me show you around. We're a little cramped but quite comfortable."
"How large a crew do you carry?" Lamont asked.
"Eighteen crew and three officers. Plus the scientists. We can bring as many as thirteen with us. Right now there are only five, all marine archaeologists."
"You've been studying Heracleion?" Selena said.
"Yes. We've pulled up all sorts of interesting things. Gold coins, pottery, statues. It sank around eighteen hundred years ago."
"Why did it sink?" Nick asked.
"It was built on silt accumulated from the Nile Delta. The current theory is that earth tremors liquefied the base. One day it was there. Then it wasn't. There are several tectonic plates that come together in this part of the world. The whole area is seismically active. There was a 6.0 quake not long ago, right in the middle of the Mediterranean basin. We got another alert this morning. Everything from here all the way out to the middle of the Atlantic is potential quake country."
"How far down is Heracleion?" Lamont asked.
"Oh, not very far. It's an easy dive, maybe ten meters. The water is murky. No one ever noticed it until the French stumbled on it sixteen years ago."
"What's that other research ship out there?" Selena pointed off the port bow at the larger ship.
"That's the R/V Tolstoy out of Sevastopol."
"Russian?"
"They're with the Shirshov Institute in Moscow. Pretty glum bunch. They keep to themselves."
Jeffrey gave them the tour. The interior of Sexton's Dream was fitted out with a bosun's shop, a communications room, an elaborate electronic shop that looked as if it belonged at NASA, a machine shop and a lab where recovered artifacts soaked in tanks of saltwater. The bridge was crammed with computers and electronic displays.