Chapter
18
0800
Hours, 13 November
The
morning was spent checking and rechecking their diving equipment while Tom navigated the Lady
Luck to Sweeting’s Cay for their cave dive refresher. Sweeting’s Cay, located at the eastern end of
Grand Bahama Island, was only accessible by boat, and the trip out would take one and a
half hours at a tourist pace. Tracy and
Colleen were stationed on the bow, playing the part of sunbathers. Their job was to scan the surrounding waters for
other boats and determine their level of threat to the Lady Luck. Dean, Katie and Bill were in the cabin going over
their dive plan for the morning. The morning’s dive was going to be a refresher on
cave diving techniques. Since they were all ANDI certified, it was a matter of land
review, followed by water practice. Unlike open water diving, cave diving required more
equipment and expert techniques, in addition to specialized certifications. They were all National Association for Cave Diving
certified, but the only one who had recent cave instructor certification was Tom. In addition to acquiring the NACD certification,
they were also going to be practicing using closed circuit rebreathers. The rebreathers
gave them some tactical advantages for sneaking up on their objective because they did not
produce bubbles or noise, had on-board computers, and greatly reduced their decompression
obligations. They were also more comfortable
for the diver, their use reducing dehydration and maintaining a more constant body
temperature. The first thing the dive team did was to review the precautions for CCR use.
The
other objectives for the morning were to practice guideline and reel use, buoyancy
control, body positioning, and propulsion techniques.
For use inside the caves, these skills had to be mastered to near instructor level
perfection. All it would take would be one
careless kick to stir up the silt and their vision would be obscured until it settled
again. With their vision impaired, it would
be too easy to get disoriented and lose their way. That’s
where the guideline and reel came into play. On
the off chance they lost their lights or the bottom was stirred up, they would still be
able to find their way back to the entrance. Horizontal
hovering and the helicopter turns were also on their task sheet for the morning dive.
As
they eased into the cay, Tom cut the engines and Tiny set the anchor. The morning was clear with only a slight breeze
skipping across the water. It was perfect
weather for open water diving. Where they
were headed, the lack of choppy waves would help in the approach to the entrance, but
after they were in, the weather on top would not be a factor for them. Tiny, Tracy and Colleen would remain on board,
while Bill, Tom, Katie and Dean headed out for the cave.
“All
right, let’s go over it from the top.” Tom
was elected to be the dive leader since he was an instructor and was familiar with the
cave. “Training, experience, ability and
fitness are the keys to safe cave diving. I
know we don’t have to worry about your fitness and ability, but this morning,
I’m going to drill you on techniques until you feel you’ve been diving every day
since you were born. I’m going to throw
everything I can at you to make up for your lack of recent experience.” He scowled at his three students who were
dutifully standing at attention, listening to his words.
He pointed towards a bright red and blue buoy, fifty feet off the port side. “The cave entrance is about twenty feet below
that buoy marker. Before we get there, I want
you to make sure everything is on snug, the weights are at the right amount, and you feel
comfortable. We’ll practice our buoyancy
control, hovering and helicopter turns before we enter the cave. Once I’m satisfied with your skills,
I’ll head toward the entrance. Before we
enter, I’ll wait for your thumbs up signal indicating that you’re ready. I’ll handle the guideline on this trip, but
we’ll each take a turn before the day is over.”
He inspected each one of them, making sure their gear was on properly, pulling on
straps, and checking their rebreathers. They
were all carrying lights, dive knives, message pads with a cave layout on the back, and a
diving model GPS unit. Although the water was
still in the seventies, they were wearing a special lightweight dive suit designed to
protect and keep them warm once inside the cave. “Ready?” Three heads nodded in unison. “Let’s go.” On that command, the four divers headed to the aft
platform, slipped on their fins and gloves, and entered the water.
Dean
waited for the bubbles from their entry to clear, then swam to where Tom was waiting,
floating at a depth of fifteen feet. Bill and
Katie quickly joined her, and they waited for Tom’s signal. Once his three students were floating motionless,
he gave a flat palm down hand signal indicating he wanted them to assume the horizontal
hover position. As each diver completed the
task, Tom would approach and adjust their body positions until he was satisfied. They returned to vertical then assumed the
horizontal position once more, waiting for Tom to assess their technique. This continued for several minutes before Tom gave
the signal for the helicopter turn. They
practiced these two skills for what seemed like an hour, but in actuality was only thirty
minutes. Finally, Tom gave his charges a
thumbs up, indicating he was satisfied with their performances. He turned and effortlessly made for the cave
opening. As he reached the entrance, he
attached the carabiner at the end of the guideline to the ring located to the right of the
mouth of the cave, then waited for the three others to join him. As they approached, each diver gave Tom the thumbs
up, indicating they were ready to enter the cave. He
tapped his dive watch and held up one finger to let them know they would be practicing and
exploring for one additional hour. Because
they were using CCR, it allowed them hours of bottom time, and the equipment was smaller
and lighter to allow them more maneuverability if the caves started to close in on them. He lifted his CCR gauge and indicated that they
all should check their supply. Satisfied by
the three thumbs up, he nodded and led the way into the cave, turning on his light as the
cave roof cut off the sunlight that had been filtering down through the water from the sky
above.
As
they entered the Zodiac Caverns under Sweeting’s Cay, the four divers were mesmerized
by the beauty of the cavern hidden from view in the depths of the ocean. The limestone cavern had obviously once been
above sea level, as stalagmites and stalactites were in evidence on the floor and ceiling
of the cave. They slowly traveled farther
inward, occasionally stopping at Tom’s command and assuming the horizontal hover
position, or practicing a helicopter turn. After
traversing the cavern for about thirty minutes, Tom gave the signal to return to the
entrance and finally, topside. As they broke
through the water and climbed aboard the dive ramp, Tom looked at his charges, who were
all sporting huge grins.
“Wow. That sure beats the fresh water caves in
Florida,” commented Katie as she stripped her weight belt, BC vest, and tank.
“Yeah,”
Bill added. “I’ve been to the blue
holes in the Yucatan, but this one’s pretty cool too.
Did you see that one set of columns just before we turned back?”
“They’d
been growing for thousands of years before the ice cap melted and put those caves under
water,” Tom informed the trio as they finished stripping out of their gear and wet
suits.
Tiny
greeted them as they entered the cabin, ready for a light lunch and rest before attempting
their second dive of the day. “How’d
it go?”
“Better
than I expected. These three aren’t half
bad cave divers.” Tom looked over his
shoulder at his students, smiling. “If
all goes as well this afternoon, we’ll be able to tackle the Lucayan Caverns on
Wednesday.”
“That’s
good, because we received a message from General Carlton while you were down. The live fire exercises have been moved up to
Saturday.” Tiny nodded at Dean as she
registered the news. “Tracy has the info
for you on the sundeck. I’ll bring lunch
up in a minute.”
“Damn. Why did they do that?” Dean mumbled to
herself as she took the ladder to the sundeck. Bill
and Katie followed her closely, as they too were anxious to hear the particulars of the
news.
They
finished toweling off while Tracy filled them in on the change in plans. “General Carlton said the joint exercises
were going so well, that the powers that be decided to end them a week early. They thought it would be a nice reward for the
crews to be able to return to their home ports in time for some Christmas liberty.”
Dean
paced the deck as she thought about her team’s agenda for the next couple of days. “Did she say if the targets for the live
fire have changed?”
“No
changes as far as she knows.” Tracy
flipped through her notes on the call from General Carlton.
“She also said the Joint Chiefs are confident that the ‘concerns’
she had about a possible threat have no foundation. You’re
supposed to call her ASAP with an update. I
filled her in on the latest, but she wants your take on the situation.”
Dean
nodded and headed to the pilothouse to make the call.
Katie and Bill stayed on the sundeck and related their experience to Tracy and
Colleen, who were not certified for cave diving. By
the time Dean returned from making her call, Tiny had brought up a light lunch of fresh
conch salad, sliced mangos, papayas, bananas, and assorted cheeses and breads. After lunch, the seven shipmates gathered in the
pilothouse to review the maps of the Zodiac Caverns to plan the afternoon dive. The tasks for review in the afternoon dealt with
safety issues: more reel and guideline practice, lost diver, loss of lights, and out of
breathing gas drills. They would also
practice with the propulsion units that Tiny had procured the day before. It would be a full and taxing afternoon. At 1300, the four divers returned to the waters to
recommence their exercises, and by 1600 they were back on deck and looking forward to a
good night’s rest. By the time they
docked the Lady Luck in the waterway behind the resort, the sun was beginning its
downward plunge into the sea, turning white puffs of clouds into beautiful dollops of
oranges, reds, and violets.
*
* * * *
After
showering and changing into shorts, no one felt like fixing dinner, so they opted to eat
out at Bananas on the Bay, the one and only restaurant located on their road. It was a warm, breezeless evening and they decided
to walk the mile to the restaurant.
“Ya’ll
like the food at this restaurant, but ya’ll probably be surprised at the
service,” Tiny chuckled. “They
definitely believe in ‘Bahama time.’
“Bahama
time? What’s that?” Katie asked
inquisitively.
“Well,
let’s put it this way… if you’re a ‘Type A personality,’ as soon
as a waiter comes to the table, be ready to order everything at once: appetizers, drinks,
and main meal,” Colleen informed the young agent.
“If you don’t, you’ll be waiting at least a half hour between visits
by the waiter. It’s a rather slow pace
on these islands; no one is in a hurry.”
“Oh,”
Katie replied as the ramifications of the slowed pace hit her, “Guess I’d better
get in my order for appetizers then, ‘cuz I’m starved. Maybe I should order two, just to be safe.” Everyone laughed in agreement, knowing that
Katie’s voracious appetite might not be able to withstand Bahama time.
After
dinner, the group decided to take the beach route back to their resort. The tide was out making the walk a bit easier,
particularly around the point leading to their cove.
As they walked, Dean set out the assignments for the next day. Tom and Tiny would get the dive equipment
refilled, and the rest would take a tour of Lucayan National Park. Dean was 99.9% certain that Scott would not chance
any more of his men in a surveillance effort, especially with the live fire exercises
being moved up. She had a gut feeling that
those exercises were part of Gentry’s plan, but what role they were to play was yet
to be determined.
“I
wish we could have gotten some information out of Joel.
I’d certainly like to know more about that radar set up.” Dean’s comment wasn’t made to anyone in
particular, but at the mention of the radar set up, Katie let out a groan.
“Damn!” The expletive was out of Katie’s mouth as
she reached up and gently smacked her forehead. “I
forgot to give you the serial numbers off the computer parts we tagged on the container
ship. I was hoping General Carlton could run
a check on them and maybe they’d shed some light on the radar array.” Dean stopped walking, then asked Katie if she
still had the numbers. “Yes, I entered
them in my palm pilot as soon as we got back to land.
I was afraid I’d forget them. My
palm’s on the dresser.”
Bill
offered to send them on to the general as soon as he got into the apartment. Katie gave him the location of the information on
her palm pilot and apologized once more for forgetting about them. Bill, Tracy and Colleen headed back to the condo,
sensing that the two women needed some private time to talk.
“Hey,
don’t worry about it,” Dean offered as she placed her arm around Katie’s
shoulder. “It’s not like we
haven’t had other things on our mind.”
“Yeah,
but, I should have remembered. That could
turn out to be vital information.”
“Yes,
it could, and if it is, we’ll still have time to act on it. It won’t take the general long to get the
info for us.” Dean turned Katie around
to face her, then reached out to lift Katie’s chin.
She smiled at the still frowning young woman then bent her head to place a gentle
kiss on the pouting lips. “C’mon. It’s a nice evening. Let’s take a walk on the beach before we call
it a night.”
The
moon was still fairly full, and it shone brightly on the calmer waters of the cove. Dean and Katie walked to the inlet for the
waterway then turned and headed back toward the beach.
Leading Katie over to a large piece of driftwood, the taller woman sat with her
back braced on the log and patted the sand between her legs. Katie settled down there and leaned back against
the warmth of her companion’s chest. They
sat there quietly for several minutes, enjoying the feel of each other’s bodies while
watching the gentle waves lap up on the shore. Finally,
Katie tipped her head to the side and peered into the eyes of her lover. “Thank you, Dean.”
“For
what, love?”
“For
not being angry with me about the serial numbers.”
Dean
smiled and increased the pressure of her embrace around the young woman. “Like I said, we still have time to get the
information and act on it. Besides, I could
never be angry with you, love.” She bent
her head and placed a gentle kiss on Katie’s mouth.
“I nearly lost you last year, and I vowed that if I were given a second chance
with you, I would never let anything come between us.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Dean sealed the promise with another kiss that
started gently before deepening and opening the door of passion once more. As they broke the kiss, Dean marveled at the ease
with which the young woman in her arms was able to penetrate her soul and release her
desires. She covertly scanned the beach for
any other late night strollers, then slipped her hand up and began a loving caress of the
beautiful woman in her arms. Lips replaced caressing hands, as buttons were opened to
expose Katie’s suntanned skin. Soon they
were in a world where no one else existed, concentrating only on each other.
*
* * * *
Chapter
19
0615
Hours, 14 November
Katie
followed Dean quietly through the condo and into their front bedroom. They slipped off their sand covered clothes,
exchanging them for running shorts, tops, and Reeboks.
Just as they were opening the door again, a voice cleared its throat behind them.
“Ahem. Coming in, or going out?” Bill whispered from
the hallway.
”Um,
going out,” Katie whispered back.
“Yeah,
lazybones. Wanna join us for a run on the
beach?” Dean lifted an eyebrow and gave
Bill a feral grin.
“Nope! I already had my run on the beach this
morning.” A dazzling smile was on the
young lieutenant’s face as he continued. “And you’ll never guess what I saw
over by that piece of driftwood log on the beach.”
“Busted,”
Katie whispered in Dean’s ear as her neck began to take on a nice shade of pink.
“One
word, Lieutenant, and you’ll be assigned to the most remote duty station I can
find.” Dean attempted an intimidating posture, but it was very difficult with
Katie’s arm firmly wrapped around her waist.
“Aw,
I thought it was pretty cute, all...” He was interrupted by Tracy’s sleepy voice
behind him.
“What
was cute?”
“Oh,
you know,” he grinned at Dean before turning to face Tracy, “those little puppies outside by the beach. They were all snuggled up when I went out for my
run this morning.”
“Oh,
yeah. Colleen’s been feeding them every
night. They are cute.” Tracy moved into the kitchen and filled a kettle
with water for tea as she spoke over her shoulder. “So,
where are you two going?”
“Out
for our morning run. Want to join us?”
Katie asked politely.
“Nah. You two go ahead.” She came out of the kitchen smiling at them. “Oh, next time you two decide to sleep on the
beach, better take your towels. That sand is
going to be a bitch to get out of your long hair, Dean.”
“Busted
again,” Katie said softly as she pulled Dean out the front door.
*
* * * *
At
0930, packing coolers, beach towels and snorkeling equipment, the five
‘tourists’ set out for Lucayan National Park in the rented SUV. It took them a little under thirty minutes to
reach the park, pulling into the parking area on the cave side of the road. Dean noted that there were only four cars in the
parking lot but that was not unusual, as it was fairly early yet. A Bahamian constable, whose duty for the week was
to patrol the park grounds, warmly greeted them. As
they presented their admission tickets, he led them to the path for Ben’s Cave. The tour was self-guided, with many trail signs
highlighting the variety of ecosystems they encountered along the way. When they arrived at Ben’s Cave, Dean, Katie
and Bill, began to pay very close attention to the layout in case they decided to enter
the underwater cave system from this point. Tracy
and Colleen made excellent tour guides as they related a large amount of information about
the system that they had picked up over the years. After
checking out Ben’s Cave, the group moved on to Burial Mound Cave, inspecting that as
a possible entry site also.
“We’ll
have to talk to Tom and Tiny, but my guess is that we will probably use Ben’s Cave
for our entry. If we try the water entrance
out in the ocean, it will take too long to find the right cut-off toward the tracking
station.” Heads nodded in agreement with
Dean’s speculation.
“Is
Tiny certain he’ll be able to find the right corridor to take?” Colleen asked as
they returned to the car to retrieve their beach supplies.
“He
seems pretty certain. He’d been diving
with Professor Withers for several years, so, he’ll lead us on the dive
tomorrow.” Katie offered this bit of information as she hefted the bag with the
snorkel gear over her shoulder. “One of
the things he and Tom are doing today is making an overlay of the cave system map, with
the approximate coordinates we recorded when tracking the package Saturday night.”
The
group crossed the road and started down the path toward the beach. They traversed through mangrove swamps,
crossed the pristine Gold Rock Creek and sand dunes, and finally came through a strip of
pinelands onto the beach. The sand was snow
white and contrasted sharply with the deep blue of the water. The beach itself was very
wide, and there wasn’t another soul in sight.
“Wow!”
was the single word uttered by Bill, Katie and Dean, as Tracy and Colleen just nodded in
agreement.
“That’s
exactly what we said the first time we came here,” Colleen commented.
“Where
is everybody?” Bill asked as he surveyed the beach from one end to the other.
“You’ll
get a handful of people here, but usually it’s pretty empty. Most tourists opt for the excitement of Xanadu
Beach or the beach across from Port Lucaya. It’s
too dull here for most folks.” Tracy
kept speaking as she led the way to her favorite spot.
“The people that drove the cars you saw in the parking lot are probably on one
of the kayak trips on Gold Rock Creek. They’ll
be on the beach when they get back around 12:30. Until
then, we’ll probably have the place to ourselves.”
They
set their coolers in the shade of some pines, then spread their blankets out in the sun. Dean and Katie were the first in the water,
followed shortly by Bill. They had their
snorkel gear and decided to take a swim out to the island just off shore where the wet
entrance to the caverns began. It was a long
swim, and by the time they got back to the beach, they were pretty tired.
“Well,
I sure hope we’ll be going through Ben’s Cave.
That was quite a workout,” Bill offered as he collapsed on a blanket.
“Don’t
forget we’ll have some assistance tomorrow,” Katie reminded Bill.
The
group spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon on the beach resting up for their
next dive. At 1500, they packed up their gear
and headed back to the parking lot, eager to get back and check out the map overlay that
should be completed.
*
* * * *
“Yep. That’s the way to go in.” Tiny was pointing to a route that was using the
entrance at Ben’s Cave. “It’ll
save us time and air. It’s also closer
to the corridor that Wit was going to explore the day he died. I’ll bet my ranch in Texas that this corridor
leads to the tracking station, and that’s why he was murdered.”
Tom
turned to the group and set out the schedule for the next day’s dive. “We’ll have to go in before the park
opens. You’ll have three hours of time
on our rebreathers and can only use one hour for exploration. The authorities are going to shut down the cave to
visitors from 1100 to 1300 hours to cover our exit, if necessary.”
“Why
only one hour? Couldn’t you use a half
hour more to explore?” This question
came from Colleen as she noted the others nodding in agreement with Tom.
Dean
elected to answer the question, explaining that most cave diving deaths occur from three
basic reasons: failure to use a guideline, diving deeper than one hundred thirty feet, and
failure to keep two thirds of your air supply in reserve for your exit. She further explained that the two-thirds rule is
necessary in case of emergencies, like a snapped guideline, or one of your buddies running
out of air, loss of lights, and so forth.
“Guess
I’ll stick to open water diving,” Colleen said softly.
Tiny
jumped into the conversation to ease Colleen’s fears.
“Don’t let that scare you out of cave diving, Col. The beauty you can find in underwater caves is
amazing, and as long as you are certified, and have a healthy respect for the element you
are diving in, it can be just as safe, or safer, than open water diving.”
“Tom,
you, Tracy and Colleen will be on land during this dive, maintaining the communication
equipment. Tiny will lead us to the corridor
and, hopefully, the tracking station. If we
make it that far, we’ll go directly into plan ‘A.’” Dean continued to issue assignments as the group
went through plan ‘A.’ This
involved the land team taking up a ready position at the southwestern edge of the station
on the main road, ready to forge across the terrain to the fence line where there was an
old gate for the sewer system lines. It was
small, but they could access it on their bellies and be ready as back up if needed. They would have to be extremely careful not to be
detected by the security team that Gentry surely had in place. The dive team was not going to perform a daytime
exploration because it would be too risky. If
everything went well, their job would be to mark their course, so a night insertion could
be made on Thursday. With all assignments
made, they had a light dinner and turned in early, eager to face the challenges the morrow
would bring.
*
* * * *
Chapter
20
0630
Hours, 15 November
The
gear was tightly loaded into Tom’s panel van. He
had brought the van to the resort the evening before so that he and Tiny, and all the
equipment could be transported to the park. The
rest of the group would ride to the park in Tracy’s rented SUV, which would also be
the back-up vehicle to reach the outskirts of the tracking station. Each of the divers would be wearing a TDSC chip so
Tom could track the twists and turns of the underwater system, and as a security measure,
in case they were detected when they reached the blue hole in the hangar. By 0700, the two vehicles left for the park as the
dawn began to break on another beautiful day.
It
didn’t take long for them to reach the park. At
this hour of the morning, there was very little traffic on Grand Bahama Highway. Pulling into the parking lot, Officer Matty Soule
and two constables greeted them, helping to carry the dive equipment up to the cave. Getting the equipment across the wooden platforms
and down the narrow stairs in the cavern was a slow and laborious project, but by 0800,
the team was suited up and heading out the passageway into the bowels of the system.
“How
are you reading us?” Dean questioned as they ventured further into the cave’s
tunnels.
“Loud
and clear,” came Tom’s reply. “And
you’re showing up perfectly on the TDSC, too. Colleen
did a great job integrating the map overlays into the TDSC’s GPS program.”
“Good,
we’ll be able to review the route later when we download the information to the
laptop.”
Progress
through the underwater system went better than expected.
Within fifteen minutes, Tiny had led them to the new corridor that Dr. Withers was
going to explore on the fateful morning that proved to be his last. Before entering, Tiny held the team up with a
raised hand as he proceeded cautiously, checking for any trips or traps that might have
been set by Gentry’s men. The area
looked clean and unexplored as they continued through a narrow crack. They were all glad they were using the smaller and
lighter rebreathing systems. If they had
been using regular cave diving equipment, Tiny would have had to take his off and hand it
through the opening in order to get through. Once
they were all through the small crevice, they continued forward carefully. Fifteen minutes after entering the new
passageway, the divers found it gradually expanding out until it opened up on a large cave
that had rays of sunlight coming in from the ceiling.
Adding the light that emanated from their dive lights, they hovered in awe of the
highlighted columns of stalactites and stalagmites that had grown to enormous size.
“I’ll
go up and check the opening in the ceiling,” Tiny called through his com unit as he
slowly swam to the surface. Noting the blue
sky visible above, he cautiously broke surface and looked around, realizing that he was
still in the bay near the Lucayan park beach, but quite a distance to the east. Submerging, he returned to the others giving a
thumbs down signal. They spread out examining
the huge monoliths, marveling at the eons of growth represented in each prior to their
resubmersion.
“Okay
team, we had better get back on track. We
only have twenty-five minutes left before we have to turn back. Let’s see if we can find another tunnel to
follow.” Tiny made a circular motion
with his hand indicating that they should check the outer walls for an exit.
“I’ve
got it,” called Bill on his com unit, immediately followed by another “got
one” from Katie. As Dean searched her
area, she too found another tunnel leading down into the floor of the cave. “I have one too, leading down.”
“Okay. Which one do we want to explore?” Tiny asked
as the group returned to the center of the cave. “We
don’t have enough time to tackle them all.”
“I
remember Joel asking which entrance we used when we interrogated him. I wonder if this is what he was talking
about?” Dean commented to no one in particular.
“Yeah,
I remember that, too,” Katie contributed.
“So,
which one do we choose?” Bill asked.
“The
one that goes down,” Katie suggested. “When
we were tracking the package, the TDSC signature faded out for a bit indicating it was out
of range, then came back again before it moved out of range completely. I’ll bet it faded the first time because of
depth, not distance.”
“Our
depth right now is thirty meters. If we go
much deeper, we’ll have to consider some decompression stops for safety when we start
to rise.” Tiny paused as he looked at each diver.
“Even though we’re using rebreathers, I’d rather play it on the safe
side. That’s going to cut into our
timetable by ten minutes.” Tiny waited for each diver to nod before adding, “If
that’s the one you want to explore, let’s do it.”
With
that, the four divers headed for the passageway in the floor of the cave. It turned out to be fairly broad, making it easy
for the divers to maneuver. The tunnel
bottomed out at ninety-three meters, before turning upward again at a fairly steep angle. Unfortunately, the upward swim took more time than
they had hoped since it contained a maze of tunnels.
Most of them were dead ends, and others turned out to be too small to traverse. Factoring in the decompression stops they had to
take, they had five minutes left to find out if they had chosen the right tunnel. When they reached a depth of twenty-three meters,
they noticed columns of sunlight entering the corridor from the ceiling of the passage. Forty more feet and they came to a section of
ceiling with a rough opening that allowed light into the passage, but no sky was to be
seen.
“Let’s
check this out,” Dean called to Tiny as she pointed up. “Katie… Bill, stay down here.” Bill and Katie took the propulsion units from Dean
and Tiny as they cautiously kicked up toward the opening, staying under the ledge to cover
their approach. They didn’t have to
worry about tank noise or bubbles, since the rebreathers did not produce either. As they touched the ceiling, they crawled forward
using their hands to control their forward movement.
At the lip, they noted that the top layer of the opening was made up of concrete. They could even see some of the rebar protruding
from the concrete at different intervals. Cautiously,
they broke the surface and surveyed their surroundings, relieved to see the inside of an
airplane hangar above their heads. It only
took a second or two to confirm that they had found their way to the tracking station
before they returned to the depths of the blue hole giving their fellow divers a thumbs
up.
In
the dim light of the blue hole, Bill in turn held up a piece of broken concrete flooring
with one hand, and returned the thumbs up with the other.
“Looks like it was a natural cave-in from the way this concrete is
broken,” Bill commented as he gently put the piece back down, not wanting to stir up
the fine layer of silt on the bottom.
“Okay,
let’s get back to the park,” Dean ordered.
Turning and retracing their movements, each diver had a feeling of relief at the
success of this dive. The trip back did not
take as long as it would have, since they did not reel in the guideline, choosing instead
to leave it in place to mark the course through the maze for the next dive. They just hid
it around the rocks and coral as they went back over their path. When they arrived back at Ben’s Cave, the
smiling faces of Tracy, Colleen and Matty greeted them.
“Sounds
like a successful dive,” Tracy suggested as she helped Dean take her equipment off. “We turned around as soon as you headed back
to the park.”
“See
anyone suspicious along the way?” Dean inquired as she slipped out of her wet suit.
“Nope. Not a soul passed us as we ate our breakfast along
the roadside. Speaking of which, you guys
must be hungry?”
“Nope,”
Katie commented as she came up behind Tracy. “We’re
starved!”
Dean
just raised an eyebrow and grinned as the rest of the group broke out in hearty laughter
that echoed across the small cave. “Guess
we’d better get you fed then. Let’s
get this gear out of here so these fine constables can re-open the park.”
*
* * * *
Brunch
was served on the deck of the Lady Luck and included a fantastic fare of island
favorites and good old down home Texas style cooking.
Tiny outdid himself as chef, all to the delight of a certain young blonde who was
now stretched out on a chaise lounge with a very satiated grin on her face.
“You
should open a restaurant!” the blonde commented to Tiny as she sipped her third glass
of orange juice.
“Been
there, didn’t like it. Too time
consuming, too many worries. Besides, a
customer like you would eat me out of business in no time flat.” Tiny chuckled as the rest of the group nodded in
agreement. “Never saw so much food
packed away by such a petite little thing.” Shaking
his head, Tiny walked off, followed by Tracy and Colleen who had volunteered for clean up
duty.
“That
big cave was really something,” Katie spoke, eyes closed, enjoying the warming rays
of the sun.
Dean
was in the lounge chair next to her in pretty much the same state of enjoyment. “Just imagine how long it took for those
columns to grow to that size. I wonder if Dr.
Withers ever saw that cave before…” She let the sentence trail off as Tiny
rejoined them.
“I
hope he did,” Tiny offered quietly. “They
found his body on the shore east of the park. I’m
guessing it was just about across from where the blue hole into that cave is.”
Trying
to change the subject, but not completely, Dean asked if he thought that Gentry used that
entrance instead of the corridor Dr. Withers found in the cave system. “That passageway entrance would have been
too small to lug his contraband through.”
“Never
thought of that. You’re probably right,
Colonel,” Tiny admitted. “So where
do we go from here?”
“I’ve
got a call in to General Carlton. As soon as
she gets out of her Joint Chiefs meeting, she’ll be calling on my satellite phone. Until then, let’s just relax a bit while
Colleen does her voodoo with the laptop.”
“Aye,
aye, Colonel,” Tiny replied, then stood. “Tom
and I are going to get the equipment refilled at UNEXSO.
Wanna stay on board while we cruise over to Port Lucaya?”
“Sure,”
came the immediate response from Dean and Katie.
*
* * * *
“What
do you mean someone’s been in the hangar?” Gentry bellowed angrily.
“Well,
maybe not in the hangar, but definitely in the blue hole.” The young mercenary recovered from his boss’s
ire, then went on, “I did my usual inspection dive, checking for any sign of
intrusion, when I spotted this guideline tucked behind some rocks. I went ahead and checked it out, but didn’t
find anyone. Someone had left that guideline
there purposely though, so I checked in with Jerry and he had security do a search of the
base, but they didn’t find anyone.”
“What
did you do with the guideline?”
“Um,
I… uh, I… left it there,” the young man managed to stammer out.
“Good. Don’t touch it… just leave it the way it
is. Send Stockton in here on your way
out.” A gleam of evil was in
Gentry’s eyes as the young man hurried out the door.
“So, someone’s come knocking at our back door? Guess we’ll just have to have a welcome party
there to answer the knock next time.” He
spoke out loud to himself as he waited for Jerry Stockton to arrive.
*
* * * *
“Hey
Dean,” Katie murmured softly as the Lady Luck docked and they felt the engines
shut down.
“Mmm?”
“It’s
going to take them a bit before they’re ready to head out. How about we stretch our legs and do a little
shop… um, go for a little walk?”
Dean
tried to think of a way to get out of shopping, but she knew it was one of Katie’s
favorite things to do, so she gracefully stood and offered her lover a hand up. “Sure, I’d love to do a little…
shopping.” Hey, maybe I can find
something for Dirk and Tibbets, she consoled herself, as they walked into the main
cabin. “We’re going to stretch our
legs for a bit. Anyone care to join us?”
Knowing
heads nodded and smiled.
“Nah,
you two go ahead. I’m going over to
UNEXSO with the guys. I need a new purge
valve on my snorkel mask.” Bill looked
over at Tracy and Colleen. “How about
you two?”
“Nope,
we’re just going to enjoy lying out on the deck, playing ‘rich tourist’ for
all the passersby,” Colleen offered with a wink and waved the two away. “Have fun.”
Dean
rolled her eyes at the ‘have fun’ comment and received a light slap in the
abdomen from her lover.
“C’mon,
it won’t be that bad,” Katie purred. “Besides,
I saw a couple of ice cream places the other night.”
Katie knew exactly how to entice the tall woman at her side as Dean’s eyes lit
up at the mention of the confection.
“Ah! Now you’re talking!”
Dean
was first off the gangplank, eagerly looking for the aforementioned ice cream parlor. Katie picked up the pace a bit, catching up to her
lover, and her quest for ice cream. Bill,
Tom, and Tiny loaded the air tanks on two carts and headed off for the Underwater
Explorer’s Society dive shop.
Within
thirty minutes, Dean’s arms were full of purchases made by her young lover. They were just heading into Candy’s Ice Cream
and Hot Dogs when her cell phone chirped.
“Damn.”
Dean cursed the timing as she quickly walked over to an empty bench and dropped the
armload of bags. She reached for the phone on
her belt clip and flipped it open. “Peterson.” Katie joined her as she listened intently,
eyebrows furrowing as the caller continued. “Yes,
Ma’am. Yes. I’ll contact him right now. Understood.”
She flipped the phone shut and replaced it on her belt before speaking. Letting out a deep breath she started to fill in
her partner. “Those serial numbers you
picked up off that piece of equipment spell trouble.
Let’s get back to the boat. I’ve
got to call Ned and Matty.” They
hurriedly picked up the packages, all thoughts of ice cream banished as they briskly
headed back to the Lady Luck.
*
* * * *
As
soon as they boarded, Dean explained to Katie that the serial numbers matched a control
component for an Ares Array radar computer; only that particular board was supposedly
destroyed as ‘defective’ at the component lab.
“That’s
probably how they got a lot of their equipment without anyone catching on. Label the piece defective and instead of tossing
or destroying it, sell it to the highest bidder. Pretty
slick.” Tom’s analysis received concurring nods from the group settled around
the table.
“I
called Ned as soon as I got on board. He’s
going to call Matty and alert the local authorities.”
“Excuse
me, Dean, but, just what is an Ares Array?” Colleen asked the question Tracy and
Katie were about to ask.
“An
Ares Array is the newest development in remote control missile targeting. It not only targets launched missiles, it can
intercept and redirect incoming missiles from the enemy.
That’s one of the things they’re doing in the live fire exercises. Testing the ability to control enemy missiles and
render them harmless… or redirect them back on the enemy,” Dean explained.
“So,
if the task force ships have them, wouldn’t they be able to redirect any missiles
that Gentry might have tampered with?”
“You
would think so, but unfortunately, no. Once
they’re redirected, the Ares Array also shields them from further redirection or
allowing the original sender to send the self-destruct signal to the missiles.”
“Well,
if General Carlton knows Gentry has an Ares Array, why don’t the Joint Chiefs stop
the exercises?” This question came from
Katie.
“It’s
too late. The Joint Chiefs gave the go ahead
for the live fire exercises to begin Thursday morning at 0700 hours. Seems there’s a tropical depression building,
and they want to end the exercises earlier, in case it intensifies. As of 0230 this morning, the entire task force is
under radio silence. Any attempt to break
that silence will be viewed as enemy transmissions and will be totally ignored.”
“You
have got to be kidding!” Colleen inhaled sharply as she spoke. “There’s no way to stop the
exercises?”
“Nope.” Dean stood and paced. “We’re going to have to go in tonight. General Carlton will be sending in a Delta Force
unit from Fort Bragg, as soon as she can get the green light from the Bahamian government,
but they won’t be able to get here until morning at best. The tracking station is still technically under
U.S. control, but the land in-between isn’t, so it’s a tricky situation. We’re going to have to go in and try to
neutralize Gentry and his mercenaries before they can activate the Ares Array against the
first flight of missiles.”
Asking
the obvious question, Tracy spoke next. “What
if he activates the Array before you can stop him?”
Dean’s jaw grew rigid, then her expression softened into a menacing smile. ”Then
we’ll have to convince him to enter the code to redirect the missile coordinates,
won’t we?”
*
* * * *
Chapter
21
2030
Hours, 15 November
After
docking back at the resort, and eating a quick dinner, the group was gathered around the
table in the dining room of the condo. Dean and Katie had devised a plan earlier on the
yacht and were now going over it with the rest of the group. “Gentry must have at
least twenty guys on the base, maybe more. That
makes the odds five to one, in their favor, but I’ve been up against worse.” She pointed at Tracy, Colleen, and Tom. “That’s not counting the three of you on
back up.” “I don’t want to have to use you three, but if push comes to
shove, we’ll need someone to show the Delta Force team how to get in.”
“At
least you’ll have the element of surprise,” Colleen offered.
“That’s
what I’m counting on,” Dean confided. “Okay,
let’s go over it from the top one more time.”
She checked her watch before pointing at the map.
“In approximately two hours, at 2230, the Lady Luck will pull out of
the Grand Bahama Waterway on its way to the coordinates Colleen gave us. That will hopefully place us over the opening in
what we’re calling the ‘cave of columns.’
Katie, Bill, Tiny, and I will enter the water at that point and head for the cave
opening, and then the tunnel leading to the tracking station. Once we’re in the cave system, I’ll give
one click on the com unit, and the Lady Luck can head to the dock at Free Town to
await the arrival of the Delta Force unit. We’ll
maintain radio silence once we’re on our way to the hangar. We should reach the
hangar by 2400. Once we get into the base, we’ll locate the radar array, plant the
C-12, and detonators. We won’t blow it
until 0600. When you see the fireworks, bring
in the Delta Force unit.” Dean paused,
looking around the table as heads nodded in agreement.
“Give us a plus or minus leeway of ten minutes for the fireworks. If you don’t hear them within the time
frame… well, you can assume we’ve been compromised. You’ll need to apprise the Delta Force unit,
then get them in ASAP.”
Colleen
raised her hand, student fashion. “But, Dean, they won’t arrive in Free Town
until 0500 or later. Won’t that be too
late?”
Dean
smiled broadly. “Not for a mop up operation, but if we’re caught, well…
we’ll just have to do our best tonight. We
need to disable that Ares Array one way or another. And,
we need to do this as quickly and quietly as possible.
Make sure the Delta Force unit silences their guns.
I don’t want any curious Bahamians showing up and getting blown away.”
“Why
not just cut the computer leads to the array instead of blowing the whole thing? Wouldn’t that be quieter?” Tracy
suggested.
“No,
I want us to be far enough away from the unit when it ceases to function. If we cut the cable, we’d be too close to it
and could get caught if they’re still checking out the system and notice it
doesn’t respond. Besides, they can
always replace the cable, but wouldn’t be able to replace the whole array,” Dean
explained.
She
reviewed her notes as she began mentally calming herself in preparation for the
night’s op. “Any more
questions?” No one spoke as each
participant registered the importance of a successful operation. “All right, we’d better get our gear
ready and into our waterproof bags, then get it on board.
Tom, you and Tiny get the yacht ready. We’ll
be on board shortly.”
Bill
and the four women went silently about their business, readying themselves for action. Dean and Katie pulled out the equipment bags that
had been sent through the embassy, and took an accounting of the weapons at their
disposal. After some deliberation, they opted
to travel as light as possible. In addition
to their dive knives, they each added to their waterproof bags their silenced H &
K’s, ten clips of ammo, and one dose pack syringe that was packaged to look like a
fat grease pen for writing underwater. Dean
also packed two separate bags with C-12 explosive gel and detonators. This explosive was as powerful as its putty-like
C-4 counterpart, but came in gel form so it could be squeezed into tight areas, making it
difficult to find and remove. She also
slipped a couple of pairs of razor sharp throwing knives into the specially-lined slots of
her wet suit at the wrists and ankles. When
the bags were packed, they were transferred into duffels to take on board the Lady Luck.
Dean
paced the living room of the condo as she waited for their departure time. Finally, at 2200, she gathered her group and the
duffels and headed out to the yacht. “Let’s
get on board, and we’ll recheck the computer coordinates on the boat’s computer
with the one’s on Colleen’s laptop.” The
quiet group exited the condo, passing by a bunch of late night revelers in the swimming
pool, who tried to entice them into trying the several flavored rums on the bar. Tracy and Col, knowing the gang from previous
years, waved and promised to join them another night.
“We
might as well head out,” Tiny suggested as Dean came aboard. “We can take our time heading to the dive
site.”
Dean
nodded in approval as they stowed their gear on the main deck. The women took the ladder to the pilothouse while
Bill helped Tiny cast off the bow and stern lines. It
took a bit of maneuvering to get the big yacht turned around, but by 2230 they were right
on schedule exiting the Grand Bahama Waterway.
*
* * * *
“Good
job on the overlay, Colleen. We should be
able to find the blue hole in the roof of that cave easily.” Dean called over the coordinates to Tom, allowing
him to make the course adjustment.
“We
should be over the coordinates in about an hour if we continue to cruise at this speed. That should leave you thirty minutes to get to
the hangar,” Tom informed Dean.
“Perfect! Give us a ten-minute heads up so we can get into
our gear. I don’t want the Lady Luck
staying in this vicinity too long, just in case they have someone watching.”
The
next fifty minutes went by too slowly for Dean as she went over the station’s layout
in her head, confirming her mental images with a review of the photos Katie had taken. When Tom gave the signal, Tiny, Dean, Bill and
Katie donned their wet suits and gear. They
each slung their weapon bag over their shoulders, and Dean and Tiny carried the C-12 bags. At precisely 2330, they slipped off the aft ramp
into the dark waters, waiting until they were submerged to turn on their lights. It took them three minutes to locate the opening
in the underwater cave, and another minute before they headed into the lower tunnel. As soon as they headed in, Dean gave one click on
the com unit, pausing to hear the faint sound of the yacht moving off towards Free Town. The divers followed the guideline down through the
tunnel and up again, dousing three of the underwater lights as they made the approach to
the opening under the hangar. Dean looked at
her watch and read the time, 2354, not bad. Now
let’s just get in and get this over with. Nodding
at her team, she gave the thumbs up signal, doused her light, and proceeded toward the
opening.
*
* * * *
“There,”
whispered the mercenary, pointing. “A
glint of light in the water. Get ready.” A team of eight mercenaries spread out, hiding
behind a variety of boxes that were scattered around the hangar.
“Make
sure they’re all out first. Wait for my
signal,” ordered Jerry Stockton.
As
Dean lifted out of the water, she removed her waterproof bags, tank, and BC vest and
waited for the others to join her. They were
squatting on the concrete floor, reaching in their weapons bags, when a series of bright
lights came on, temporarily blinding them.
“Just
drop the bags, and put your hands behind your head,” Stockton ordered.
Shielding
her eyes from the bright lights focused on them, Dean recognized Stockton as he leveled
his weapon on her. “Do what he
says,” she commanded as she stood to her full height.
Immediately her team stood, slowly raising their hands, and placing them behind
their heads.
“Wise
decision,” Stockton commented. One by one, their hands were jerked behind their backs
to be tied up with plastic disposable flex-cuff restraints. “Now, move!” The mercenaries with Jerry surrounded the four
divers and herded them toward the base of the control tower. “Lock them up in the
store room, while I get Gentry.”
The
guards opened the door and led them to the storeroom as ordered, giving each a shove into
the dark room. As the metal door slammed shut
and locked behind them, Dean cursed as her shin hit an obstacle in front of her. Even with
her hands tied behind her back, she was able to maintain her balance and keep from falling
over the obstacle. “Damn. It’s
pitch black in here. Watch where you’re
going, I just hit something,” she warned.
“Oww. So did I,” Katie added.
Dean
wryly addressed their predicament. “All right. So
much for the element of surprise. Let’s
see what we’ve got here.” She
slowly made her way around the room to get her bearings and a feel for the size of their
prison. “No windows, so this may be an
interior store room. I’m guessing, about
ten by ten.”
“Yeah,
with a bunch of crates in it,” Bill offered as he bumped into another one.
“Well,
we might as well get comfortable while we wait for Gentry to show up,” she sighed as
she felt for a nearby crate and sat down on it.
“Now
what, Colonel ?” Tiny finally asked as he sat on the next crate.
“We’ll
wait and see what Gentry has to say first. Then
we’ll continue with our plan, after we’ve made a few necessary changes,”
she added with a teasing tone, in an attempt to keep up morale.
Although
things had definitely not gone according to plan so far, they all had complete faith in
the woman they followed. “Right,” three voices chimed confidently in unison.
At
that moment, Dean heard a hissing sound coming from somewhere above them. “Gas!” she warned her companions. Hoping it was a heavy gas like the KO237 they used
in New York, she ordered them to get on top of the crates and hold their breath.
*
* * * *