They gathered in a circle around him, Natalie, Peter Dennis, George, Jack, Tom and Alex the Frenchman. The driver of the people carrier presented a clipboard which Hutchinson signed and returned. The driver thanked him and placed it on the front passenger seat. He opened all the doors and began unloading all the luggage and placing it on the quayside. The driver of the other hired vehicle did the same. The two vehicles left.

"If you'd like to collect your belongings and follow me to the ship. If you have any queries crew members are on hand to help."

Hutchinson set off at a brisk pace. The others throwing bags over shoulders and wheeling cases behind him. Once on board they were shown to their cabins by the crew. Natalie was given a cabin all to herself. Dennis rapped his fingers on her door.

"Hello," she said.

He poked his head into the room.

"Hi just thought I'd check to see if you're ok."

"Yes I'm fine thank you. You can come in."

He entered the cabin. It was bigger than his, which was just down the corridor. He looked out of the port hole window. The water was ten feet below. A tug boat was maneuvering into position.

"It looks like we are leaving straight away."

Natalie had just placed her holdall on the mattress of the bottom bunk.

"Well Jim never likes to waste time."

"That's what I came to see you for. Jim has asked that we be on deck near the crane at 11am. He wants you to go over the equipment and give the safety talk."

She looked at her watch.

"An hour and fifteen minutes."

Dennis sat down on a small stool.

"Do you mind," she said, "I'm waiting to unpack my things."

"Don't mind me," he said not taking the hint.

"Most of it is my underwear," she said opening a small drawer in the bedside table.

He jumped to his feet.

"I'm sorry."

The ship lurched sideways as the tug boat pulled it away from the dock causing her to stumble into Dennis' arms as he caught her. The closeness of the embrace felt good to them both.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I guess we're leaving port," he replied.

She felt that she should pull away from him. She'd hugged men before of course in relationships but somehow this felt different to her. Kind of exciting. Suddenly he was kissing her hard, pulling her towards him, still holding her arms. She responded, the tip of her tongue touching his teeth. The kiss went on and on and she pulled his shirt out of his trousers and ran her hands up and over his chest. She felt his nipples harden under her touch. Her own felt very hard. He unbuttoned the shirt and shook it off. She pulled away from the kiss to admire his muscled torso.

"Close the door," she said.

He went to it.

"I don't normally do this with people I've not known very long."

"Neither do I," he replied.

She took her vest off, her bra candy pink. Next she was unzipping her jeans. He gawped at her. She had a fantastic body. Then a bad thought crossed his mind.

'We have to work together and I respect her!'

He looked at her perfect body. He'd never wanted a girl so much.

"Natalie maybe we shouldn't. I mean we do have to work together and I don*t want to upset your boss."

She kicked her jeans off. Her thong matched her bra. She made it to him in two steps and grabbed him by the neck, pressing her body hard against his.

"Shut up and kiss me."

He felt the lace of her underwear against his body and it stirred him. He reached behind for the latch on the door.

Afterwards they lay in each others arms in the cramped bunk. She gently stroked his chest with her fingertips. There was a knock on the door. Natalie lifted her head off Dennis chest.

"Who is it?"

"It's Jim Nat. Just checking to make sure Peter gave you that message."

Dennis held his breath in case Hutchinson heard him.

"Yes he did."

"Have you seen him?"

Natalie put her hand in front of her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"No I haven't Jim. Have you tried his cabin?"

"Yes. He wasn't there."

"I don't know where he could be then."

"I'll see you on deck then Natalie."

"Give me five minutes. I'll be there."

"Thank you Natalie,"Hutchinson was about to walk away when he knocked the door again.

"Mr Dennis I'd like you to come as well."

The ship was out to sea by the time they grouped on deck. The feel of it familiar to Natalie and her group once again. Peter Dennis leaning against the side. The untoward motion of the ship alien to him.

Hutchinson finished his briefing before handing over to the ship's Captain.

"Good morning lady and gentlemen," he said introducing himself in heavily accented English, "I am Captain Ali Hakan. Please call me Ali. I am from North Cyprus," he continued looking at George, "I would be interested in learning where you are from my friend."

George nodded the minimal of politeness. The Greeks loathed the Turks and Northern Cypriots. He could never conceive of being friends with any of them. He or any of his people.

"My crew," Ali continued, "Are mainly Turkish, two Russians, an American and Greeks. We'll be sailing approximately two miles, to this location."

Ali pointed on a map, outspread on some oil drums. He gestured for Hutchinson to take over.

"Yes. The island you see here is Djerba. This is Gabes," Hutchinson pointed back to the port they'd left earlier that day, now on the horizon, "That is Djerba ahead. Somewhere on the line we are following is our prize. It's up to us to find it."

"In this area are a dozen shipwrecks," Ali cut in.

"Nine of which are from world war two," Hutchinson continued, "We are lucky that the water is shallow here. Sometimes reaching depths of only one hundred feet. It is shallower near the island, naturally. There are two wrecks here. We will search those first," Hutchinson rummaged amongst the papers in front of him until he found what he was looking for. He held it up. It was a large black and white photograph.

"This is what we're looking for. This is the freighter 'Tangipito' This picture was probably taken before the war because she appears to be in pristine condition. One torpedo and sixty years at the bottom of the Mediterranean will have taken their toll on her. Take a good look though. There may still be something recognisable down there. Pass that picture around," Hutchinson handed it to Alex, "Natalie."

"Thank you Jim."

Natalie moved forward from her place in the group.

"We'll be diving in pairs. Alex and George. Tom and Jack. Myself and Peter. Mr Dennis is a novice diver which is why I'm accompanying him. It was Jim's idea," she said when she saw the look from George.

"Yeah I dived many years ago on a family holiday in Jamaica. I'm sure it will all come back to me," Dennis said.

There were a few chuckles from the team. Natalie smiled at Ali.

"The water is not so calm today," the Turkish Captain said, "It will be quite murky down there for you. The current pulls quite strongly around the island and you can drift. This is especially dangerous for divers if you get separated. Even in depths of sixty feet you may not be able to see the ship on the surface. If anyone gets into difficulty my crew will be circling in the dinghy. Make it to the surface and wave your arms and they will pick you up. Any questions? No. Good. We'll arrive at the first wreck site ina." Ali turned to his first mate.

"About thirty minutes Captain."

"Right people if there is nothing else let's get suited up," Hutchinson said.

The team broke into their pairs. Dennis looked over the side at the turbulent waters. It was a fairly calm day.

"There is nothing to worry about," Natalie said joining him.

"I'm not worried. It's just not as I remembered it."

"You mean the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean. Jamaica wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"The water here will be warm. You just won't be able to see much until you're at the bottom, but don't worry," she flashed him her best smile, "I'll be with you the whole way."

"What are those?" he asked sitting down on a seat.

"Shark cages."

"Shark cages! Are there sharks in the Med?"

"Some. But nothing to worry us much. Trust me."

"That's the trouble. I do."

Once in the water Dennis felt more afraid than he'd thought he would. The accomplished divers had rolled off the dinghy backwards. Natalie told Dennis to stand and jump in feet first. He felt himself reaching out to try to steady himself, completely kitted out as he was, with tank, breathing apparatus, weighted belt, flippers. He felt ridiculous. He was sure he looked ridiculous. Natalie was sitting at the edge of the small boat.

"Just remember to breathe normally."

He nodded and took two short breaths. Then thinking he was ready he wobbled to the little boat's edge and nearly capsized it as he jumped into the sea. The fear reached him first and then the cold of the water. Bubbles raced past his mask and for a moment he felt himself begin to panic. He'd stopped his descent. That much he knew. But then he wasn't rising either. His immediate instinct was to bolt for the surface. Then he remembered her words.

"Breathe normally."

He took a few deep breaths and felt himself begin to calm. Underwater sounds were different. He heard the bubbles. A sound which registered in his mind as something similar to a splash. He glanced up at the surface and realised the sound had been made by Natalie entering the water. He could see the small dinghy. Foam appeared to be coming from its propellers. Then is sped off. The two crew members in it circling to lay buoys to warn of divers in the water. Natalie straightened up in front of him. She waved at him and spoke. He couldn't understand the words but took them to be.

"Are you all right?"

He gave her the thumbs up.

He wasn't all right. He was hating every moment of it but he didn't want her to know that. He took another deep breath. When he looked up at the surface again he realised they were deeper. They had been slowly sinking. Dennis glanced down at his feet. He couldn't see much past them and the panic began to return. Natalie caught his arm and they slowly descended. Then at thirty feet he could see the sea bed. At forty feet the pressure began to hurt his head. He stopped again and put his hands either side of his head and rubbed his temples. It didn't take the pain away. His ears were also hurting. Natalie swam over. Dennis opened and closed his mouth a few times, champing on his teeth. It did ease the pressure a little. Natalie pointed upwards at the surface.

"Do you want to return to the dinghy?"

Dennis shook his head. She asked again, realising his holding his head probably meant that the pressure was hurting him. She asked him again if he wished to return. He shook his head more firmly this time and to prove the point he turned and began kicking downwards. At sixty feet they touched the sea bed. Natalie went into a kneeling position, motioning Dennis to do the same. She checked her watch and the gauge on her tank. It had taken five minutes to cover the sixty foot dive. This would normally be unacceptable. It should have taken less than a minute. But knowing it was Dennis' first dive and he didn't actually have a PADI licence which meant that she probably shouldn't have let him come, five minutes seemed reasonable.

'At least he made it safely to the ocean floor,' she said to herself.

They were taking one hell of a risk. Checking once more that he was ok, they set off, swimming along the sea bed.

Always looking ahead Dennis realised for the first time in his life that there wasn't really much life at all in the open sea. He saw no fish. No man eating sharks. Nothing. He laughed. Earlier he'd been afraid at the thought of sharks. Now he knew they didn't exist. How could they? After all there was nothing to eat down here.

They glided towards what looked to be grass. Long thick blades of grass that were evenly spaced apart. Just as he thought it was strange the 'grass' disappeared one by one in front of him and he realised it was in fact eels. They were using the flow to catch and feed on the rich nutrients of the currents. The current was strong down here just as Ali had said it would be. The silt stirred up in the current kept visibility down to five metres. Dennis found this reassuring, almost as if they were closed in, safe. Natalie pointed ahead and following her finger Dennis could see the other divers. The side of a ship loomed up from the seabed. His excitement quickened. This was it. As they got nearer Natalie flicked on her helmet's lights. Dennis remembered his now and flicked the switch. The lights revealed more of the ship.

'It looks like a trawler' he said to himself.

George was at the bow with Alex. Tom and Jack at the stern. Natalie took Dennis over the side and onto the deck. Dennis felt his flippers touching rope netting and he imagined himself getting tangled in it. He kicked with his feet, looking nervously down at the age old ropes, his flippers kicking up sediment. Crabs darted out from the tangle. Plastic buoys attached to the nets bobbed in the current. Starfish crawled over the deck, moving incredibly slowly. They all knew now that this was a fishing trawler and not the small freighter they were looking for. At the bow George rubbed away some of the slime covering the ships painted name. The letters Sa.Ha.Aa.H, some more rubbing, Oa.Fa.Pa.Ea.Ra.Sa.Ia.A.

The Shah of Persia, and beneath the name, Gabes. The ship's home port.

Natalie peered in through the windows of the bridge. Two were still intact. The other had been smashed. Large shards of glass covered in sediment where they had fallen. There was nothing of interest in the bridge. The ship's wheel looked as slimy as the rest of the boat. The other divers joined her in a group. They all faced her. She got Dennis into the middle of them and checked her watch. They still had fifteen minutes of air left but there was nothing more to be seen. It was an old trawler. It could have been on the bottom, ten years, twenty, thirty. It was a job to tell. She checked that Dennis could remember how to ascend. He gave her the thumbs up.

Slowly they began to rise. Dennis' head still hurt with the pressure but he had got used to it. He was only reminded of it as they ascended and the pressure changed. At the surface six heads bobbed in the waves. Dennis spat his mouthpiece out, glad to be rid of it. His jaw ached, unaccustomed to the regulator. He opened his mouth to speak and a small wave lapped at his face and he involuntarily gulped a mouthful of water which made him gag. The two engined dinghy powered down as it reached them. One of the crew reached out a hand to Natalie.

"I think you'd better help Mr Dennis first," she said.

The crewman reached out to the journalist who was still coughing.

"Throw me your mask first then undo your harness and I'll pull the tank up."