Diesel inboards, Dar noted, not that different from what powered her own craft now eighty feet above her head. She eased up over the stern and onto the deck, startling a grouper. A small school of gorgeous blue and yellow angels swarmed around her as she slowly swam along, looking for any signs of something she knew she wouldn't know even if she spotted it.

A cleat on the deck drew her interest and she descended, touching the round, heavy iron circle with her hand. Meant to hold down a vertical piece of equipment, she found the center of it- coral-encrusted wood, indicating it hadn't been in use when the vessel went down. Her eyes tracked to a second cleat, and then a third, much larger one. Dar frowned, thinking about the fishing vessels she'd seen in the marina. The net winches would have been bolted down here, she realized, along with the heavy motors to draw in the thick nets so their contents could be dumped into the open hold.

The hold doors were there, cracked open and granting the access to the ship's interior that she and Kerry had used the last time, but as she circled around the deck, she realized that nothing else was there-no cranes, no winches, no mechanism the fishermen would use to retrieve their catch.

She felt something approaching and her head jerked up, only to find Kerry soaring up over the wheelhouse, moving toward her.

Her partner slowed to a halt, then pulled out her small slate and a grease pencil and started to scribble. Dar left her to write, as she drifted off into the wheelhouse.

It was fairly dark inside. She directed her flash around and examined the dim, silent place where the captain had likely spent his last moments. For a second, her skin p.r.i.c.kled and she looked around, sternly telling her imagination to pick a better time to become active. The inside of the structure was covered in coral, and she had to move cautiously so as not to get her gear tangled or snagged.

The chair bolted to the floor had come loose. Dar ducked around it, and examined the console that held the ship's wheel. The old-fashioned, nubbed wood was surprisingly intact, and she curled her hand around one of the spokes. The wheel had a bra.s.s inset, and she leaned closer, shining her light on it. The sea had corroded it badly, but she could see the plate was loose, and she pulled out her dive knife and gently pried at it. It came loose and floated down. Dar ducked around the wheel after it and snagged it in one hand near the decking of the wheelhouse. She was just turning to come back up when she spotted an odd profile under the front console.

Curious, she flipped over onto her back and wriggled underneath the metal shelf, shining her light on her find. It was*277 covered in growth, but Dar could just make out something clamped there, and she cleared away some of the coral to get a better look.

The outline was sinister. Dar felt a chill down her spine and she glanced behind her in pure reflex. Shaking her head in annoyance, she moved in closer and worked carefully at the clamp, trying to pry it free.

A hand grabbed her ankle. With a surprised burst of bubbles, Dar lurched upward, slamming her head against the console and knocking herself silly. Disoriented, she lashed out with an arm, then felt a familiar grip on her and realized it was Kerry. She went limp with relief, and rubbed her head where it had impacted the metal. Kerry pulled her closer and removed her regulator to kiss the spot.

Dar rolled onto her back and gazed up at her partner reproachfully. Kerry gave her an apologetic look, but handed her the slate to read. Dar scanned the message and nodded vigorously, giving Kerry a thumbs-up. Then she pointed under the console to her prize.

Kerry floated over her, going belly to belly with her in the small s.p.a.ce. She directed her light on the item, then jerked back in surprise, looking at Dar in a questioning manner.

Trapped comfortably under Kerry's body, Dar spread both hands in an att.i.tude of questioning also. Kerry pointed at the item and then made a tugging motion. Dar nodded agreement, and gave her a gentle poke in the side.

Kerry pushed back out of the way, allowing Dar to roll over and take hold of the encrusted relic. She braced herself, then pulled.

The item didn't budge. With a scowl, Dar got a better grip, pressed her fins against the console, and hauled backwards with all the strength of her powerful shoulders and thighs. There was a sound they could hear even underwater as the metal ripped loose abruptly, sending Dar shooting backwards into Kerry, and both of them into the wheel in a clash of bodies, tanks, and dislodged coral.

Kerry rolled out of the way, but her hose caught on one of the wheel spokes and yanked her around. She twisted in surprise, and with a pop, the hose ruptured and pulled loose from her second stage. Air stopped. Kerry's eyes snapped open wide and she reached back, her other hand grabbing for Dar's arm nearby. She spat out her regulator and stuck it into her pocket, reaching down for her secondary. The broken line was spewing bubbles, however, and she realized it was her life running out and gathering up along the ceiling.

Dar whirled at the sound of air releasing, spotting the problem immediately. She dropped her hard-won relic and pounced on Kerry, pulling her around to get at her second stage. In an instant, she grabbed Kerry's hand, pulled out her own reserve regulator, 278*

and handed it to Kerry.

Kerry grabbed her residual air computer and showed it to Dar.

Dar just pushed the regulator at her as she turned the valve on the top of Kerry's tank to shut her air down. Kerry took the regulator and exchanged it, now breathing off the same tank as Dar. She picked up Dar's computer and looked at it, clutching Dar's arm in alarm.

Dar patted her cheek comfortingly and kept working. It was getting dark. Dar propped up her light and grabbed Kerry's broken hose, examining the end of it. Discarding the hose a moment later, she pulled a small packet out of her BC and unwrapped it, disclosing a multipurpose tool and some small, shiny things that looked like foreshortened bullets.

Kerry waited tensely, unable to see what Dar was doing and very conscious of the air they were both expending. On Dar's tank, they would not have enough for both of them to get to the surface with a safety stop, which would expose them to the danger of the bends. Kerry tried to remain calm, breathing slowly and evenly.

The water closed in around her, now dense and dark, flickers of unknown life visible at the perimeter of her vision.

Dar closed the end of her pliers on the bit of hose stuck in the second stage, twisting it hard and uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the end of the broken part. It jammed a little, but she finally coaxed it out and let it drop to the ground. From the selection of small bullets, she picked up one and inserted it into the hole, gently working it in and s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the threaded plug into place. She tightened it down, and then slowly opened the valve again, watching carefully for any bubbles.

There were none.

She tapped Kerry on the shoulder and motioned for her to exchange regulators again. Her lover did so immediately, sucking in air from her own reserve with a look of utter relief. Dar put her tools away, and then checked her watch. They had been down too long, she realized, and from the look in Kerry's eyes, Kerry knew it too. Dar pointed toward the wheelhouse entrance, knowing they didn't have time to even glance into the ship's hold. But there wasn't anything she could do about that. All she could do was grab up the relic she'd found and head for the surface.

She followed Kerry out into the dark ocean. Almost no light was coming down now, and the wreck was receding into a mysterious shadow. Dar hefted her bit of metal in one hand and got her bearings, moving slowly away from the boat toward their anchor line.

Kerry checked her compa.s.s, shining her light ahead of her until it reflected off the silvery chain reaching up toward the surface.

She took hold of the anchor line, grateful for its security as they began to inch their way upward. It was the first time she'd ever had*279 an equipment failure, and she had to admit it had rattled her badly.

She knew that if she hadn't had Dar with her and Dar hadn't been prepared as she always was, she'd have been facing an emergency ascent and the very real possibility of a diver's nightmare. The bends meant the trapping of nitrogen bubbles inside her bloodstream, bubbles that would grow bigger as she shot to the surface and potentially cut off her circulation. A normal rate of ascent gave the gas plenty of time to be gradually reabsorbed, but doing anything else opened you up to the risk of a heart attack, a stroke, paralysis, or death. Kerry wasn't ready to die yet, and just the thought of a stroke like her father had suffered made her blood run ice cold.

But she had been lucky; Dar had been there. Kerry felt a lump in her throat as they paused for a safety stop. Watching her from behind her mask, Dar circled her leg with an arm and squeezed it.

With the dark water around them, it was an oddly intimate moment. Kerry leaned forward and pressed her mask against Dar's, just looking into her eyes. She forgot about their mission. She forgot where they were, and for just that moment, Kerry was simply glad to be alive.

Dar brushed her fingertips against Kerry's jaw. Her eyes smiled. Kerry caught her hand and clasped it. She could feel the powerful emotion running between them so strongly; words would just have been window dressing. Above them, their conjoined bubbles twirled lazily for the surface.

Breaking the surface first, Dar pulled off her mask and shook the hair out of her eyes. She spotted the boat, Charlie and Bob waiting anxiously on its deck, and moved toward it.

Kerry emerged just behind her, surprised at the chop that the water had developed. Glad their dive was over, she kept her regulator in her mouth as she followed Dar through the waves. She hung onto the ladder while her partner hauled herself up on board, Dar's catch bag heavy with the relic she'd recovered as it banged against her knee.

As Dar cleared the ladder, Kerry tossed her fins on board, then grabbed the metal rungs and, with a surge of energy, pulled herself and her gear up out of the water. She was already stepping onto the deck by the time Dar turned, and she gave her lover a tiny wave as she made her way over to the bench and sat down on it. So, Kerry, her mind gently mocked, wanted to look macha in front of the boys, hm? She hooked her tanks up on the holder and unfastened her BC, sitting back and relaxing as the weight came off her shoulders.

"Find anything?" Bob asked. "Looks like you did!"

Dar shed her catch bag, which clattered onto the deck. "Found a couple things," she said. "How are we doing on time?"

"All right," Charlie told her. "Wind's come up."

280*

"So I noticed." Dar shucked her gear and stood up straight, pulling her hair back and wringing the water from it. "We found some things I can't really explain, but I'll tell you what we didn't find." She put her hands on neoprene-covered hips. "We didn't find fishing gear."

Charlie and Bob looked at each other. "Huh?" Bob said. "What d'you mean? It was a fishing boat."

"Yeah." Kerry stood and went to the cabinet, where she pulled out two towels. The night air was cool, and she was starting to chill.

"But Dar's right. There wasn't any fishing gear on it. No nets, no whatever-those-things-are they use to pull the nets up, nothing."

She tossed Dar one of the towels. "I found a part of a crate I brought up." She wrapped the other towel around her, closing her jaw to prevent her teeth from chattering. "I need to go put on something dry."

"Go." Dar pushed her gently towards the cabin. "Where's that soup?" she asked Bob, giving him a direct stare.

"Oh. Um...inside." Bob pointed. "I'll go get it." He opened the door and let Kerry enter ahead of him, then closed it behind them both.

Dar went to her catch bag and opened it.

"If he wasn't fishing, what was he doing here?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Good question." Dar lifted the salvage she'd retrieved and handed it over to him. "Found that clamped under the bridge console."

Charlie's eyes opened wide as he handled the big, coral- encrusted item. "Sonofab.i.t.c.h, Dar. That's an M-16!"

"Mm." Dar fished in the bag and pulled out the bra.s.s plate. "I need to clean this off." She sighed. "So we know he wasn't fishing, but we're not any closer to figuring out what he was doing."

"Chances are, it wasn't somethin' legit," Charlie said. "Not with this on board. You think he was running dope?"

Dar shrugged. "Beats the h.e.l.l out of me." She toweled her hair a little drier and exhaled. "Not a fun dive. Kerry severed one of her hoses in the wreck." She walked over and examined the tank.

"Thank G.o.d my father pounded into me about carrying a quick kit all those years back."

Charlie was at her shoulder, looking at the hose. "Sonofab.i.t.c.h."

He touched the plug. "d.a.m.n straight that's lucky." He put a hand on Dar's shoulder. "Tell you what, Dar. Why don't you go on inside and get some java in you. I'll start the crate up and head us over down south."

Dar blew out a breath. "All right." She gave him a grateful grin.

"Careful going up that ladder."

Charlie snorted. "Swab." He gave her a gentle push toward the*281 door, much as Dar had given Kerry earlier. "G'wan. Put those brain cells to figuring out what to tell that whack job when we get there."

Dar picked up the bra.s.s plate and collected Kerry's bag, then headed for the door. Something hot to drink and dry clothes sounded like a great idea. Off in the distance, she heard the faintest hint of a rumble, and reminded herself to turn on the marine radio.

With their luck, the d.a.m.n storm was coming, and she had, at best, five hours to figure out what the h.e.l.l she was going to use to bait DeSalliers. Dar shook her head as she entered the cabin, glad to be out of the cool breeze and inside the well-lit s.p.a.ce. Bob was in the galley stirring something in a pot, and Kerry was presumably in their bedroom getting changed.

Dar gave Bob a brief smile and walked right past him toward the closed door beyond. She dropped the bag on the deck near the bathroom and continued on, knocking lightly on the bedroom door before she opened it.

Kerry was reclined on the bed, completely naked, her head propped up on one fist. She lifted her other hand and motioned Dar forward.

Who the h.e.l.l, Dar wondered suddenly, needs any d.a.m.n soup to get warm? She quickly went inside and closed the door behind her.

"Hi."

"I need your help," Kerry drawled softly. "But first take off your wetsuit. I don't want you to drip all over the bed."

Caught just a trifle off guard, Dar felt her eyes widen as she looked at her lover. "Um...okay." She reached behind herself and caught the zipper strap, tugging it down and releasing the wetsuit.

She peeled it off her arms and then stripped out of it, leaving her in her swimsuit. "Something wrong?"

Kerry c.o.c.ked her head to one side. "Not with you," she said.

"C'mon, c'mon."

Dar got out of her suit and toweled herself off, then sat down on the bed next to Kerry. "You know we've got guests outside," she reminded her lover wryly.

"Yes, I know." Kerry sighed and rolled over, laying her head on Dar's thigh. "But when I fell over in the ship, I got something stuck in the back of my neck. It's sharp, and I can't reach it, and it's driving me crazy."

Dar blinked. "Oh." She stifled a tiny laugh. "Hang on." She gently probed the soft skin on Kerry's back, seeing a red spot near the base of her skull.

"Mm." Kerry exhaled. "You're nice and warm, Dar. How did you do that so fast?"

"Sweetheart," Dar murmured, her eyes on her task, "you're lying here in front of me naked. If I was even slightly chilly, we'd have a problem." Kerry's low, rich laugh surprised both of them.

282*

"Ah. Got it." Dar gently grasped the metal splinter and eased it out of Kerry's skin. A tiny bead of blood followed, and she pressed the spot carefully, squeezing out a little more to make sure she'd gotten everything out. "Bad boat. Sticking my Kerry." She felt Kerry exhale, a flutter of warm breath along her thigh. "Better?"

"Much. Thanks," Kerry said as she rolled over onto her back.

She rubbed her hand along Dar's leg and gazed up at her with deep affection. "And thank you for being there, and for knowing what to do today."

Dar disposed of the sliver and eased down next to Kerry.

"Thank Dad. He beat dive safety into me within an inch of my life."

She put her hand on Kerry's knee. "Are you okay? I know that was scary."

Kerry nodded. "I'm okay," she said. "I was kind of nervous when it was happening, because going to the surface fast wasn't something I really wanted to do, to risk."

"No," Dar murmured. "Lousy place to risk a case of the bends,"

she admitted. "I had a mild hit once, and it's not something I ever want to repeat." She flexed her hand in front of her face. "Lost feeling in my arm for a week."

Kerry eased over and curled up against Dar. "I thought about my father," she said softly. "About what that must have felt like."

She drew a deep breath. "Yeah, I was scared."

Dar put her arms around Kerry's body. "I wouldn't let anything like that happen to you," she a.s.sured her. "Believe that, Ker. It's my job to keep you safe down there."

Kerry felt herself cradled in Dar's embrace, her body now warmed through and through as the lingering fears evaporated. "I believe it," she whispered. "I know I'm safe with you."

They rocked together in silence for a few minutes, listening to the engines rumble to life and the anchor retract.

"Do we have anything to give DeSalliers, Dar?"

"A little."

"Enough?"

"I don't know," Dar said. "I just don't know."

Chapter.