“This evening my crew is loading specialist equipment. Tomorrow we will use submersibles and sand vacuums. Mr Hutchinson tells me that you’re all familiar with this equipment though none of you has ever lifted something the size of the sarcophagus. Well, no matter, my team will be down there with you. They will do the bulk of the work.”
Ali could see disapproval in the Greek’s face but George remained quiet.
“Does anyone have any questions at this point? No. Then if it’s all right with you all I will begin to explain tomorrows operation.”
Peter Dennis listened with only half an ear. He knew he would only be part of the bigger picture. He wouldn’t be able to dive tomorrow. He would be a hindrance to the team, that he knew and it angered him. No, not anger, frustration. He studied Natalie. Her tongue was touching her lips as she listened to the Turkish Captain. Then Ali finished his briefing and Natalie made her excuses and left to use the bathroom. Dennis watched her go. She was wearing a coral pink dress that stopped above the knee. It was very pretty and Dennis enjoyed seeing her bum wiggle as she walked through the busy restaurant. A waiter carrying a bottle of wine moved politely out of her way to allow her to pass and he turned his head to watch her. Dennis saw and half smirked. He couldn’t think of a single man in the world who wouldn’t find her attractive. Except for maybe Hutchinson. He took his eyes off the ladies toilet door to study the American.
“I really am getting too fond of her,” he said to himself, knowing it would probably never work out between them.
The group at the table were boisterous. Somebody said something to him and though he smiled he didn’t actually hear the words. He realised it was Jim Hutchinson sitting next to him who had spoken.
“I’m sorry Jim what did you say?”
“I was just saying I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“Yes. Yes of course.”
But Dennis wasn’t concentrating. He was watching the ladies door waiting to see Natalie reappear.
“Do you know,” he said out loud, “I think I’m falling in love with her.”
Dennis picked up his wine and downed it.
“What did you say?” Hutchinson asked, not sure he’d heard right.
“I said to tomorrow, a sort of toast.”
The waiter arrived with a bottle of red and popped the cork. Hutchinson slapped Dennis across the shoulder in a friendly gesture as he was offered the cork to smell but he waved it away.
“Just pour my good man. My friends glass is empty.”
The man stood alone in the shadows by the bridge of the ’Wavecrest’. The ship was in almost total darkness. The only lights on were in the crew’s cabins. The lights on the bridge were off but the computers and radar were on leaving a faint blue-green glow that reflected in the windows.
The port of Gabes was unusually quiet. The figure could hear the water lapping against the side of the hull. He stood so still that for anyone watching his white suit they would have passed it for a different shade in the dark. He was staring fixedly across the harbour at the ’Volante’ moored at her dock. The sound of dogs barking from somewhere in the town drifted across the water. A car engine started up and it moved away, the sound getting fainter. It backfired many times. The dogs fell silent.
The figure in the white suit turned at the sound of approaching footsteps on the metal stairs. He saw the huge bulk of Danilov approaching. At the top of the stairs Danilov thrust out his hand.
“The disc you asked for Herr Count.”
The white suited man took the compact disc from the huge Russian.
“Thank you Danilov. That will be all.”
The man in the white suit went onto the bridge alone. He loaded the CD into a computer and when a media player screen came up he clicked ‘play’. The soundtrack was distorted. For over an hour he used the computer’s program to remove background noise. Finally he got what he wanted to hear. He replayed the soundtrack. He just couldn’t quite make out the words spoken. He fine tuned some more. Now he could clearly hear the female voice. He replayed it over and over. The words registering in his brain.
“As I left the wreck I think I saw something. Jim I think it was the sarcophagus. I think we’ve found it.”
The man dragged the cursor along to remove the first two sentences spoken. Then played it again and again and again.
“I think we’ve found it. I think we’ve found it.”
He looked out of the windows at the ’Volante’. An evil, sickly smile spread across his face.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
Cables trailed the small R.O.V. as it snaked its way through the wreck of the freighter ‘Tangipito’. On the bridge of the ‘Volante’ Ali, Dennis, Hutchinson and Natalie watched its progress on monitor screens. Dennis was standing behind Natalie, who was seated, his hands lightly on her shoulders. She had warmed to his touch. A reaction that had not gone unnoticed by Hutchinson. He ignored it to concentrate on the screen. With the lights on the submersible they could see how murky the water was.
“We’re entering the hold of the freighter now,” Ali said. He pointed to a computer screen displaying a cut through diagram of the ’Tangipito’ taken from the ship’s original blueprints.
“It looks like they didn’t have time to batten down the hatches,” Dennis said.
“Or just didn’t have them. Some ships don’t you know, especially ones of this age.”
Ali put his finger on the cut through diagram.
“We’re in hold number one. This ship has a….a….I don’t know the English….”
“A partition,” Hutchinson added helpfully.
“A partition,” the Turk continued, “The hold is divided into two. Natalie you and your team entered through the stern into this section. This is where you believe you saw what you think may be the sarcophagus.”
He glanced up at her.
“Yes.”
Ali maneuvered the submersible further into the hold. Bubbles were escaping from the hull and rising up. He steered through them. The R.O.V. was now met with a solid wall of debris.
“Some of this is the original cargo.”
“It must have moved. Been disturbed by the recent earthquake,” from Hutchinson.
“Possibly.”
“Can you find a way through it?”
The R.O.V. moved very close to the wreckage. He nudged a crate accidentally and it fell forward bumping into the submersible.
“Careful. Careful,” Hutchinson said.
They watched as the crate disintegrated in front of them.
“The wood is completely putrefied,” Peter Dennis said.
“It’s had sixty years of being constantly soaked,” Natalie added.
“I suppose it would be impossible to get the cargo up in the crates wouldn’t it,” Dennis said.
“In the crates Yes. It may be possible to get the items out individually. That is of course if they’re of any value.”
“And if we have the time,” from the American.
“Apart from the sarcophagus what would she have been carrying?” Natalie asked Dennis.
“They were evacuating a major supply port so I guess, fuel, munitions, possibly troops, though my grandfather told me they left in a hurry and most of the Germans got left behind and were captured.”
“So you’re saying there could be munitions down there.”
“I’m saying it’s a possibility.”
Ali spoke without taking his eyes off the monitor.
“Don’t worry Mr Hutchinson my team are trained in all aspects of diving, including the use of or dangers of explosives.”
“Wouldn’t it have gone up with the torpedo strike on the stern?” Dennis asked.