Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

The next morning when she woke at a little before five he was no longer beside her. She sat upright in a moment of panic. Get a grip. What did you expect? It was a fantastic night, but now it's over. She had told him that she wouldn't expect anything else. It would be foolish of her to—

But there was a message to her from him on her phone propped beside the pillow on her bed. She snatched it up and accessed the message.

I had a few things to do to prepare for the surprise I promised you with Hannah. I'll be back before daybreak. I'm only sending you this message because it just occurred to me that sometimes you have very peculiar ideas and I thought that I should guard against that at all costs. You were totally everything I could ever hope to experience, and I refuse to let you think anything else. We'll straighten out everything else as we go along, but remember that and forget about obligations and deals and anything else you might decide to use as an excuse not to have what we just enjoyed many, many times again into perpetuity. Okay? Sleep well.

That was all. But it was enough. She put her phone down but didn't lie back down herself. Bastard. He shouldn't have worried her like that. And furthermore, she didn't have peculiar ideas, she thought indignantly. Everything she'd said had been sensible, and she'd only been careful to make certain he understood she wasn't trying to do anything that might make him feel caught or demand anything from him he wasn't prepared to give. Surely that was reasonable?

But she'd refuse to think about what he had said in that message. Except he'd said he'd be back soon and she'd rather think about every detail of what had happened last night and the way her body felt right now as it remembered every note of the way he'd made it sing…

But there was no chance of her going back to sleep now. She gathered clean clothes and her shampoo as she left the tent and headed to the lake for a swim.

Mack jumped to his feet from his blanket outside her tent and ran after her. She laughed as she started to run toward the lake. "By all means, come in for a swim. Yes, it was a good night, Mack. Sorry we couldn't invite you in. But it was kind of a special time. And it might even be a better day. We'll have to see…"

Harlan did not get back to the camp before dawn. It was nearly nine before he arrived in the main camp, and when he did, Aban was in the passenger seat of the Range Rover he was driving. Aban jumped out of the car the minute he saw Kira. "I know I should have called and told you I was leaving camp, but Harlan said he might need me. How could I refuse?"

"You could say no." She turned to Harlan. "What have you been up to?"

"Didn't you get my message?" He got out of the driver's seat. "That said it all. But I thought that I should drive down to the pier and have Belson deliver this vehicle to me to use while I'm here. I didn't want to have to depend on Kalim for transport." He nodded toward Aban. "Accommodating as our young friend is making himself."

"Oh, shucks," Aban said with mock modesty. "That's what I'm here to do." He shot a sly glance at Kira. "Particularly since Harlan stopped by and talked Kalim into letting me go with you the next time you go down and scuba."

"Good." She turned and focused her attention on Harlan. "I could have gotten you any kind of transport you needed from Kalim." Kira was still frowning at him. "Why did you have to get that Range Rover from Belson?"

"Because it's got the kind of carrying and hauling power we're going to need." He was sniffing the air at the bacon cooking on the campfire. "I'm hungry. Kalim didn't offer me breakfast. Can you imagine that?"

"And what were you doing at Kalim's this morning?" Kira asked.

"I told you, Kira," Aban answered for him and then turned away eagerly. "I'll go get you bacon and eggs, Harlan." He was already walking toward the campfire. "Kira?"

"Not until I get answers," she said grimly.

"I think she'd appreciate a good meal, Aban," Harlan said. "She's going to need it today."

"Right away." Aban hurried toward the fire.

"Okay, let's start at the beginning," Kira said. "Why did you go wake up Aban and take him with you instead of me?"

"Because you looked so peaceful and beautiful, I couldn't bear to wake you. If I'd tried, we would have both ended up back in bed."

She wouldn't melt. Not until she got those answers. "Would that have been so bad?"

He grinned. "No, so good. But I had plans for today and I wanted you to share them. Aban was the practical solution. I had plans for him, too."

"What plans?"

"He wanted desperately to go back to his scuba diving, and Kalim wasn't going to let him, because he was afraid for him. But what if I insisted he go with us? I doubted Kalim would turn me down."

"He might. You're not on his favorites list."

"But I had a talk with Kalim this morning and guaranteed that I'd take care of Aban if he'd permit him to come with us on the hunt. I told him I knew that he'd want Aban to be known among his people as a great warrior, since Kalim was the one who taught him diving as a boy."

"And he agreed to it?"

"Not entirely in those words, but I also told him that I knew if anything happened to the boy, he'd feel justified to cut my throat." He added ruefully, "Then he was very happy to go along with it."

"Splendid," Kira said. "I don't believe I'd be equally overjoyed to let that happen."

"But you'd want Aban to thrive, and we can take care of the rest." He grinned. "Actually, he reminds me of myself as a kid. He's a boy who wants it all. To do it all. Let's try to give it to him."

In that moment, as she looked at him, she wanted nothing more. "I would have loved to have known you then."

"No, you wouldn't. I was a hell-raiser and always wanted to do things my own way. My brother, Colin, was the good guy in the family. He was always looking out to make sure I wouldn't get in trouble."

"You've certainly changed. Now you're the caretaker. Look at how you watch over Fiona."

He shrugged. "Sometimes you have to learn harsh lessons when you lose people. And Fiona was family."

"You didn't know anything about me, and you still watched over me."

"I knew quite a bit about you before you even showed up on my radar." He lifted her hand and kissed her palm. "And it was my pleasure… and will continue to be."

The melting had completely taken place. "Damn." She shook her head with frustration. "And I was all prepared to be angry about that snide message you wrote me. It's not fair."

"Snide? And I thought I was doing so well. Maybe just the thing Colin would have written."

She scowled at him. "You said I had peculiar thoughts. I believe I was being perfectly reasonable."

"Beautifully peculiar." He kissed her hand again. "Could I have breakfast now?"

She sighed. "Anything you want."

"Really? What a totally grand commitment. Will it be pirates' gold? Or perhaps a pharaoh's throne? Ah, let's go tell Aban you're not angry with me any longer." He winked and spoke in a mock English drawl. "I want to take you down to the sea, milady. Hannah will be waiting for us."

"It's about time you got here, Harlan. Just because you're my boss, it doesn't mean you can keep me waiting. I have obligations." The grinning woman who was coming down the pier toward them was in her thirties, with curly dark hair and deep-set brown eyes that twinkled with humor at the moment. "You're not the only billionaire who wants my services. They're standing in line."

"Sorry." Harlan was shaking her hand. "But I have a boss, too, and she's heading this operation." He drew Kira forward. "This is Kira Drake, and she'll be doing her best to keep me in line when we're trying out the diving sleds. Dr. Hannah Bryson, Kira."

"I'm impressed." Kira shook her hand. "Delighted to meet you, Dr. Bryson. Harlan didn't tell me you were the Hannah Bryson who did the work on the subs that were used when they found that lost city of Marinth. You're practically a legend."

Hannah shrugged. "That was a long time ago. I hope I've done even more interesting things lately."

"Evidently you have, if you're working with Harlan." Kira smiled. "Then may I compliment Harlan for having the sense to hire a woman to design his latest creation? It shows he's even more intelligent than I thought. I'm also delighted you're going to let me try to launch your new sled, Dr. Bryson."

"Hannah. And Belson has been telling me about you. He doesn't believe the word ‘try' is in your vocabulary. I know it's not in Harlan's." She was looking out to sea at an incoming barge. "Here come my sleds. If you'll excuse me, I must go help my fellow engineers set them up for us." She gestured to a tent down the pier. "And if you want to change into one of the wet suits I brought, you can do it in that tent. Shall we get started, Kira?"

"You bet we should," Kira said. "I can hardly wait."

Hannah turned to Harlan. "I know you're going to want to examine your design creations before you let us toss them in the sea. You can change on the barge."

He nodded his head. "Whatever you say, Hannah. I don't expect any surprises." He glanced at Kira "But I hope you're going to have a great one a bit later, Kira."

She smiled. "You designed and built it, didn't you? I'm not expecting any surprises, either." She waved at him as she turned and ran toward the tent.

Less than an hour later, Kira and Harlan joined Hannah Bryson and her team at the water's edge, where four sleek devices were suspended on metal stands.

The devices' graceful curves and elegant lines almost suggested Italian race cars. They were much smaller than cars, however, measuring about five feet long and a little over three feet wide.

Kira stepped around them. "I didn't think they'd be so… beautiful."

"Thank you," a voice spoke behind her. Hannah stepped over a series of coiled cables and joined her, smiling. "When Harlan presented me with all the ideas he wanted incorporated in these sleds, I was blown away. I'm used to dealing with military clients, who often don't have the most revolutionary ideas. But Harlan is… brilliant. He deserves the reputation he's made for himself. Every time I presented my latest round of plans to him, he came up with another half a dozen amazing suggestions that took the project to another level."

Harlan grinned as he approached them. "Hannah is being too generous. When I came up with these ideas, I knew there was only one person on earth who could make them work, and that's Dr. Hannah Bryson. Though even I was surprised at how beautiful she made them."

Kira turned toward one of the dark blue sleds. "Me too. They're breathtaking. I have to reach out and touch them." She turned to Hannah. "May I?"

Hannah gestured to Harlan. "Ask the owner."

"Of course," he said. "From what I hear, every visitor to Hannah's shop at the factory has wanted to touch these things."

"That doesn't surprise me," Kira said. "They're stunning." She ran her hand over the sled's smooth curves.

"I'm flattered you think so," Hannah said. "I've always thought that my designs should be more than just utilitarian. They should invite people to engage with them."

Kira stepped back and admired the sled from a few feet away. "I'm definitely getting the invitation."

Harlan was also obviously thrilled. "Hannah, you've outdone yourself," he murmured.

She laughed. "You haven't seen them do anything yet."

"I have faith."

Hannah turned back to Kira. "See? If you design something that looks nice, you've won half the battle."

Harlan shook his head. "It's your reputation I have faith in. If these things can do half of what's in the design specs, we're all going to be blown away."

"No pressure or anything," Kira said.

"I think you're going to be very happy." Hannah motioned toward a seating area in front of the sleds. "Shall we begin? I've brought a few divers as well as my engineering team here for the demonstration." She held up her hand as she saw Harlan start to protest. "Don't worry. All of them are sworn to secrecy regarding the details of the sleds. Naturally, the technical innovations won't be revealed. But they've worked hard, and they deserve to see what we've created." She grinned. "And I thought you'd enjoy having an audience to applaud your new toy, Harlan."

"By all means," Harlan said as he watched the stream of people pouring out of the barge. "And you deserve to have your co-workers appreciate what an amazing job you've done, Hannah."

She chuckled. "You're damn right. So hold on for the show!"

A couple of minutes later, Hannah stepped in front of two large video screens that had been wheeled behind the sleds. "Welcome, and thank you for the hospitality you've shown me and my team since we arrived here. When Mr. Harlan approached me to build a new generation of underwater sleds, he had some ideas that had never been implemented before. Which is exactly why I wanted to be a part of it. As most of you know, I usually design submarines, but I was inspired by Jack Harlan's desire to create a craft that puts us into the water in a way unlike anything else ever designed."

Hannah walked toward her devices. "Most of the underwater sleds with anything close to these capabilities require days or even weeks of training. Not these. Most divers can be up and running in less than an hour."

This elicited a round of surprised and skeptical comments from the crowd. Hannah smiled. "I'm serious. And I have confidence that each one of you will prove me right." She bent down and picked up what appeared to be a small scuba mask. "And it's mostly because of this."

"A mask?" Kira said.

"Yes, but it's also the nerve center of this entire project. It wirelessly interfaces with the sleds. The diver won't have to master a steering mechanism. All you do is look at your destination, and the sled will take you there, navigating itself over, under, or around any obstacle to get there. Once the sled locks on to the target, the diver just hangs on."

As she spoke, the two screens displayed an animation illustrating the concept. There were several "oohs" from the crowd, even from some who had expressed doubts only moments before.

"You can grip the sled on side handles, or—" Hannah slipped her hands into slender fissures in the sled's rear side. "—place your hands in these silicone-lined areas that wrap around your fingers like gloves." She leaned forward until she was in the device up to her elbows. "When I flex my fingers, you'll notice something happening in front."

The crowd reacted in surprise as a pair of mechanical arms suddenly protruded from the front of the sled. Each arm was outfitted with a mechanical hand that moved with the dexterity of a human appendage. Hannah smiled and turned to face the crowd as the device's steel fingers flexed and rolled as if playing an invisible piano.

"Cute," one of the divers said. "But if we're down there anyway, we can just use our own hands."

"You can," Hannah said. "But can your hands do this?" She leaned forward, and the mechanical fingers picked up a large rock on the ground in front of the sled. The hand squeezed the rock until it shattered into hundreds of pieces.

The diver stepped back. "Whoa."

Hannah turned back toward the crowd. "These appendages can be used to clear debris, move wreckage, or move heavy objects to the surface."

Kira turned to Harlan. "Nice. Is that one of your contributions?"

Harlan nodded. "You never know when you might need an extra pair of hands."

Hannah stepped away from the sleds as her small crew picked them up from their stands. "As you can see, their size and relatively light weight makes them easily transportable to wherever they might be needed. It's one thing for me to talk about what they can do, but another to actually demonstrate their capabilities in the water, which is what my dive team will do for you now."

Kira raised her eyebrows. "She's going to use that dive team she brought?"

"Plus one." Harlan unbuttoned his shirt and unfastened his pants to reveal a red-and-black wet suit under his clothes. He tossed his shirt and pants aside.

Kira chuckled. "You're kidding."

"You believe I'd let an opportunity like this go by? Watch and be amazed."

Harlan joined the three members of Hannah's dive team at the water's edge. As each sled was placed into the water, a diver took his place at the rear; each undocked his swim mask and put it over his face. Harlan slung a scuba tank over his shoulder and adjusted his mouthpiece and regulator.

He and the other three operators inserted their arms into the sleds, which whirred to life and propelled them ten yards from shore before silently disappearing beneath the water.

Hannah pointed to the screens, which now showed a point-of-view shot from a sled in the rear. Kira could see Harlan leading the group, easily apparent because of not only his uniquely colored wet suit but also his broad shoulders. "Our divers are headed for an area we've set up with wireless video cameras so we can watch. These sleds are designed for exploring in all sorts of conditions. We've prepared some tests that will be a surprise even to our divers. Let's see how they do."

A moment later, dozens of tennis-ball-sized spheres appeared on the screen, fired from tubes on the ocean floor. Clear shields immediately shot up on the sleds' top surfaces, blocking the spheres. "As you can see," Hannah said, "the divers are protected from any debris they may encounter. These shields will stay up as long as foreign objects are detected in the water in front of them."

Then, as the spheres made contact with the sleds, they exploded in what appeared to be white clouds, covering the cameras' entire field of view in a milky mess. Hannah paced from one screen to another, showing a new image that almost looked like a video game. "When the visuals are compromised, these sleds emit sonar and lidar pulses that enable them to construct images, which are sent to the divers' masks. They can see in almost any conditions. We're now seeing what the divers are seeing."

Kira found herself gaping at the crystal-clear images in amazement. She looked around and saw that the others in the group were sharing her surprise.

Hannah pointed to the right screen, which was still clouded over. "You can't see them here, but we've released several plastic cones into the water. The shields will block them from the operators, but with a flick of the wrist, the sleds will now navigate around them with incredible speed and accuracy. It's technology developed by Mr. Harlan for the Department of Defense."

As the murkiness dissipated, Kira could see that the sleds were indeed dodging and weaving around the underwater cones. She turned toward Hannah. "They're doing that without any help from the divers?"

"Yes. The operator can resume manual control at any time, and from his logs in the software simulator, I've already seen that Mr. Harlan enjoys showboating a bit."

As if on cue, Harlan executed a breathtaking barrel roll as soon as his sled cleared the cones.

The viewers laughed and applauded.

"When the diver is finished, his sled will return to home base, even if that base is on a boat that has moved many miles from where it started. The sled will always find its way home."

"Incredible," Kira said. "I can't wait to try it myself."

"Harlan has already booked you for a training session," Hannah said. "But like I said, it won't take much time at all."

The four sleds and their operators returned to the surface and glided to a graceful stop at the water's edge. Harlan, smiling broadly, pulled off his mask and walked toward Hannah.

"Amazing!" he said. "I could have spent hours down there."

"You will," Hannah said. "The sled batteries are good for at least sixteen hours of continuous use."

"Excellent," Harlan said. "But I think there are a few adjustments we should still make. Do you have time for a quick conference?"

"Of course. I have a few tweaks of my own."

Harlan turned toward Kira. "What did you think?"

"I loved it. It's fantastic. What a cool toy!"

"It'll take us wherever we need to go. And there are a few things you haven't even seen yet." He cocked an eye toward Hannah. "If everything is operational."

"Don't worry." Hannah was scribbling in a pocket notebook. "Everything we talked about is in there."

"Good." He turned back to Kira. "Ready for your first lesson?"

Her eyes widened with excitement. "Now?"

"No time like the present."

"I couldn't agree more," Kira said. "Hannah told me you already booked some appointment time for me."

He took her hand and led her toward the sleds. "I did. For right now. I guarantee you're going to love it."

Harlan was already aboard the barge when Kira brought her sled close enough for Hannah's crew to anchor it firmly in its berth next to Harlan's more than an hour later. But it was Harlan's face she saw first as he bent over to help her out of her sled and lift her onto the deck of the barge. He was grinning from ear to ear as he swung her in an exuberant circle. "Have a nice trip?"

"Wonderful! You know I did." She gave him a hug. "Can't you tell how excited I am? What a fantastic new toy you've managed to develop this time, Harlan. You really know how to show a girl a good time."

"I actually thought it was you who was showing me the good time." He kissed the tip of her nose before releasing her. "I'm glad you thought my humble effort was worth your attention. You were the one in the lead; I was only trailing behind you for most of the run. I expected you to wave me back to the barge and go find that treasure by yourself."

"I wouldn't do that. This was something we agreed to do together. Besides, it was the wrong location. Good for a spin with your sleds, but I've already found the approximate area where I thought the treasure would be found. This side has the wrong structure and lack of caves on this side of the shore." She saw Hannah coming out of the control room and whirled toward her. "It was great, wasn't it? Aren't you proud of him?" She added quickly, "And yourself and the team, of course."

"Of course," Hannah said solemnly. "We all did well. Or so the progress reports told me today. But the genius in our midst might have had a good deal more to do with it than the rest of us. He tends to do that, I've noticed. That's why I came to work for him all those years ago. I knew I'd get all the glory and attention that rubbed off from him if I hung around long enough."

"Stop being modest," Harlan said. "It doesn't become you. You tell me often enough how many times you get asked to leave me in the lurch and go to work for competitors. Were the reports on the sleds really that good?"

Hannah nodded. "The preliminary was great. I'll be doing the final once I check out the onboard data recorders."

"Then let's do it," Kira said. "Harlan needs to know what a great job he did. May I help?" She frowned. "No, I might get in the way. But I'll learn more later. Oh, well, I guess I did my share earlier with the test dive."

"And an excellent job it was," Harlan said soberly. "So let me go along with Hannah while you get busy on making a report to show me what you meant about the wrong cavern structure and lack of caves. I don't want to be left in the shade again."

"I'll do that," Kira said. "I'll go change and then when you've finished, can we take Hannah up to the hills for lunch and let her see the dogs and horses? I want to hear more about her work, and you can introduce her to Aban. He's such a terrific scuba diver that I imagine he might be a big help to her."

"We'll give her the opportunity to find out," Harlan said. "No pressure, Hannah."

"Never," Hannah scoffed. "Not from you, Harlan. But I'm afraid I'm more interested in submersible vehicles than dogs or horses. However, I'd like to hear about some of your experiences, Kira. Belson had a few fascinating tales to tell. Lunch it is."

Kira watched them as they headed for the control room.

Harlan glanced back at her before he followed Hannah. "Okay? If you want to try your hand at going through those reports, it's up to you. It's just that it can get pretty boring. I didn't want to inflict it on you since you've evidently had such a good day."

She shook her head. "You don't have to hold my hand." She smiled. "It has been a great day, Harlan. And I believe it will get better." She gestured for him to follow Hannah. "Go get your work done. After I change, I'm going to sit in the sunshine and look out at the sea and think about how good it was and what we might be able to find next time we decide to go down and have another look… It's good to realize that in a world that has ghastly ghouls like Taylor running around, there's still adventure and brilliant people like Hannah Bryson, and maybe new things to discover. Tomorrow could be very exciting…"