"I upgraded everything when I bought the ship," Sexton said. "It's the best gear available, as good as what the military has. Our scanners produce accurate images of the ocean floor, even the deepest parts."
He led them down a corridor with small cabins on the side. Each cabin slept two or four. Jeffrey assigned two of them.
"Selena, you and Nick take this one. Lamont and Ronnie, you're next door."
"When's chow call?" Lamont asked.
"Two bells into the dog watch."
Lamont smiled. Selena looked confused.
"1700," Jeffrey said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go topside."
"It's good to see you again."
"You too." He took Selena's hand. "Come on up when you're ready."
The cabin was hot and stuffy. Nick opened the port hole to a fresh, Mediterranean breeze that brought the rich smell of the harbor
"So that's Jeffrey," Nick said. "A ship like this, he must have quite a bit of money."
"He comes from a wealthy family. His grandfather made a fortune in timber."
"How well did you know him?"
"I told you, we went to school together."
"The way he looked at you was more than just friendship."
"Oh, Nick, it was a long time ago."
"Did you sleep with him?"
"Once."
"Because you were friends."
Selena was getting annoyed. "Yes. Because we were friends. There wasn't anything more to it than that."
"If you say so."
"There's no reason to be jealous. It's not like you."
Nick took a deep breath. "Sometimes I look at you and I think I can't be this lucky. You can't blame me for getting jealous once in a while."
Selena put her arms around him. "That might be the nicest thing anyone ever said to me."
She kissed him.
After a moment, they broke apart. "Let's go topside before this turns into more than a kiss," Nick said. "We need to tell Sexton where we want to go."
Selena took a folder with copies of Stephanie's satellite scans out of her backpack. Nick tapped on the open door of Ronnie and Lamont's cabin.
"Time to let the Captain in on what's happening."
They found Sexton on the bridge, talking with his first mate.
"We need to brief you," Nick said.
"Let's go into the wardroom."
They followed him to the room used by the ship's complement of officers. The wardroom was paneled with varnished wood and fitted out with polished brass lamps. It had the feel of another time, when ships traveled under sail and the lamps were lit with oil instead of electricity. Much of the small room was taken up by a narrow, rectangular table. They sat down at the table.
"You mind telling me what this is all about?" Sexton asked. "You've been checking on my security clearance."
Nick saw no reason to deny it. "How did you know that?"
"I have my sources. You're not out here because you're looking for an interesting dive." He looked at Selena. "Are you?"
"Why do you think that?" she said.
"Oh, I don't know. It could be that pistol you've got tucked away in the small of your back. Since when did you start packing? Although I remember you saying you wanted to shoot that philosophy professor."
"For being boring. I'd forgotten that."
Jeffrey turned to Lamont. "I guess you don't remember me. The Gulf? Operation Broken Wing?"
Lamont gave him a careful look. "Yeah, I remember you now. You were dressed like an Arab. You were the Intel officer."
"Yes."
"That was a good mission. We got our pilot back and kicked ass."
"It was a good team." Sexton paused. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out you four are a team. Except for Selena, it's obvious you three are military. Why are you here?"
"It's classified," Nick said, "and we're former military, not active. Before we go any further you need to look at this and sign it."
He pushed a piece of paper across the table. Sexton picked it up.
"A secrecy agreement? I haven't seen one of these for a while."
Sexton took a pen from his shirt pocket and signed the paper.
"You don't want to read it?"
He handed it back. "I've seen them before. Okay, what's this all about?"
"Selena, you brief him."
"How much can I tell him?"
"You can tell him what you think you found. He doesn't need to know more than that at this point."
Sexton watched the exchange. "Now I'm really curious. When we talked on the phone you said you'd found an undiscovered sunken city."
"That's right," Selena said. "What I didn't tell you is that I think I found Atlantis."
Sexton started to laugh, then stopped. "You can't be serious." He looked at their faces. "You are. I don't believe this."
"I'm almost certain the city I found was the capital of Atlantis. The only way to know for sure is to dive on it. That's why we need you."
"My sources said I was being looked at by a spook agency. They didn't know who it was but they didn't think it was Langley. Who are you working for?"
"We work for the president," Selena said. "I can't tell you more than that."
She put the folder with the scans and GPS coordinates on the table.
"Everything you need to know to find the site is here. The plan is to locate it, dive on the ruins and decide if it is Atlantis. You can't tell anybody about it. In the future, if it turns out to be Atlantis, you'll be able to claim some of the credit for the discovery. It will make your reputation. Until then, everything is black. Are you good with this?"
"What are you looking for? Wait, I know, you can't tell me because it's classified."
"That's right. You must understand that, with your intelligence background."
"Sure I do. Okay, let me see what you've got."
Selena passed the folder over to him.
"The site is near the Azores," Selena said.
They waited while Sexton took out the scans and charts and began looking through them. After a few minutes he looked up.
"No question there are ruins down there," he said. He was excited. "Atlantis. I can't believe it. We'll leave tomorrow. If these coordinates are accurate I can have us on site a week from now."
"You can't get us there sooner?" Nick asked.
"I have to take care of a few things here before I leave," Sexton said. "If I suddenly take off it will seem odd."
"I guess we'll have to settle for that," Nick said.
Someone knocked on the door. Sexton rose and opened it.
"Skipper, the harbormaster is here. He mentioned a new tax."
"Tell him I'll be right out."
"They tax you for being here?" Selena asked.
"He's looking for a bribe. Are we done for now?"
"Yes."
Sexton got up and they followed him on deck.
A small motor launch bobbed in the water alongside Sexton's Dream. A pudgy man with a large mustache stood in the bow. Behind him were two uniformed police officers. A sailor manned the cockpit.
"Peace be upon you, Captain," called the official in English.
"And upon you," Sexton said.
"A beautiful day, is it not?"
Nick saw one of the policeman staring at Selena. He said something to the other cop. Both of them looked at her and then at Nick.
"I understand a new permit is required," Sexton said.
"Alas, it is always so."
Sexton took a fat envelope from his pocket. "I was fortunate enough to obtain the necessary forms when I was in town yesterday. I've filled them out. They're in this envelope with the fee."
The man smiled. "Excellent, Captain, excellent."
One of the policeman came over to him and began talking. He pointed at Nick and Selena. Nick couldn't hear what he said. The harbormaster frowned and said something back. The cop looked unhappy.