Tomb of the Lost (87 page)

“
Yes.
”

Ali maneuvered the submersible further into the hold. Bubbles were escaping from the hull and rising up. He steered through them. The R.O.V. was now met with a solid wall of debris.

“
Some of this is the original cargo.
”

“
It must have moved. Been disturbed by the recent earthquake,
”
from Hutchinson.

“
Possibly.
”

“
Can you find a way through it?
”

The R.O.V. moved very close to the wreckage. He nudged a crate accidentally and it fell forward bumping into the submersible.

“
Careful. Careful,
”
Hutchinson said.

They watched as the crate disintegrated in front of them.

“
The wood is completely putrefied,
”
Peter Dennis said.

“
It
’
s had sixty years of being constantly soaked,
”
Natalie added.

“
I suppose it would be impossible to get the cargo up in the crates wouldn
’
t it,
”
Dennis said.

“
In the crates Yes. It may be possible to get the items out individually. That is of course if they
’
re of any value.
”

“
And if we have the time,
”
from the American.

“
Apart from the sarcophagus what would she have been carrying?
”
Natalie asked Dennis.

“
They were evacuating a major supply port so I guess, fuel, munitions, possibly troops, though my grandfather told me they left in a hurry and most of the Germans got left behind and were captured.
”

“
So you
’
re saying there could be munitions down there.
”

“
I
’
m saying it
’
s a possibility.
”

Ali spoke without taking his eyes off the monitor.

“
Don
’
t worry Mr Hutchinson my team are trained in all aspects of diving, including the use of or dangers of explosives.
”

“
Wouldn
’
t it have gone up with the torpedo strike on the stern?
”
Dennis asked.

“
Not always,
”
Ali replied,
“
It depends on many things, point of impact, whether the strike was followed by a fire, whether any explosives were armed. Sixty years of sea water won
’
t have done them much good. If there are any. We don
’
t know for sure.
”

“
No of course not.
”

“
Don
’
t worry Mr Hutchinson. If there are any my team is more than qualified to deal with it.
”

For over an hour Ali maneuvered the remote operated vehicle around the hold of the wrecked freighter. Finally he conceded to everyone present that there was no way of getting into the second part of the hold. He would now try to enter via the stern as the divers had only yesterday. Having concentrated for so long with the controls he now handed over to his first officer to get the R.O.V. out. The man eagerly took the controls and began turning the submersible. Those watching could see more of the cargo strewn everywhere.

Suddenly the R.O.V. stopped moving. The officer pushed forward lightly on the controls.

Nothing.

“
We have a problem boss,
”
he said.

Ali had just poured himself coffee. He banged the mug down and rushed over.

“
What
’
s wrong.
”

“
It just stopped moving forward.
”

“
Can you move side to side?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Backwards?
”

“
Yes. Just not forward. Something must have happened to the cable.
”

Ali picked up his walkie-talkie and called the crew members controlling the winch for the submersible.

“
This submersible has a mile of lines,
”
he said.

The winch operator
’
s voice cut in.

“
Yes Captain.
”

“
What
’
s happening?
”

“
Not sure sir. The cable won
’
t feed out or retract.
”

“
Stand by.
”

Ali ran his fingers through his short curly hair.

“
Can you still not move forward?
”

“
No. Do you want me to try again Captain?
”

“
No we
’
d better not risk it. See if you can turn around to look behind. One hundred and eighty degrees.
”

The controller carefully turned the R.O.V. around.

“
Anything?
”

“
Not yet.
”

“
Try to maneuver so I can see the cables.
”

He got the R.O.V. into position. Now, looking at the monitor they could see the tether and cables climbing up to the submersible at a forty five degree angle.

“
Follow it slowly.
”

The crewman pushed gently forward on the joystick. The submersible began retracing its route following the cable down. He had to keep the R.O.V. diving at an angle as the cable went slack and fell away to the floor. Then the R.O.V. came across the crates, that had fallen, trapping the lines. The wood was rotten and the crates had fallen apart, spilling their contents. The R.O.V. hovered in close, giving them a good all round view.

“
I don
’
t think I can break out of it Captain. Any attempt may sever the connecting lines and the equipment may get damaged or lost.
”

Ali stared at the monitor. Natalie stepped forward.

“
Let my team go in.
”

Ali looked at her.

“
It may be too dangerous. The wreck has obviously been unsettled by the recent earthquake. I couldn
’
t guarantee your team would be safe.
”

“
We
’
ll get out of there the moment there is even a hint of danger.
”

The sound of the Lynx helicopter, on the
‘
Wavecrest
’
deck, powering up drifted to them.

“
There really isn
’
t much time Captain,
”
Hutchinson said,
“
Natalie will get her team out at the smallest sign of danger.
”

Ali looked back down at the monitor, the cables taut on the screen.

“
The Lynx is lifting off,
”
Dennis said watching through binoculars,
“
I think there are divers on board,
“
he lied.
”

“
Very well,
”
Ali decided,
“
But we get out at the first sign of trouble. We still don
’
t know if there are munitions on board the freighter. Your team has permission to enter the water Mr Hutchinson but I will be sending in the claw.
”

Dennis leaned in close to Natalie and whispered in her ear.

“
The claw?
”

She half turned to his voice and nodded.

“
What
’
s the claw?
”

“
This is the claw,
”
the first officer told Dennis as he pulled off the special R.O.V.
’
s cover. This submersible was easily three times the size of the one trapped. Dennis whistled.

“
The next size up can carry one man.
”

“
I take it it
’
s called the claw because of this.
”

Peter Dennis ran his hand along the shaft of the arm attached to the front. A large pincer type claw was bolted to the arm.

“
Yes. This claw can cut through most materials but with a gentle touch it can carry items. It will rescue the stricken R.O.V. for us.
”

“
How would it stand up to explosives?
”

“
Explosives?
”

“
Yes. Say shells from a sunken warship.
”

“
Oh I see. Well of course it could become damaged from such a shock but these things can take immense pressures on their frames. The ones that found the Titanic over twenty years ago were at depths of two and a half miles and technology has come a long way since then. Rest assured this is the man for the job.
”

The dive team came out on deck. George at their head, Natalie was last in deep conversation with Hutchinson. Dennis tried to speak to her before she went in but didn
’
t get the chance and once again he felt his frustration rising at not being directly involved.

The six divers waited at the surface for the clawed R.O.V. to be lowered. Natalie suddenly turned and gave him the thumbs up. He blew her a kiss. She grinned, then placed her regulator in her mouth and dived.

The water was much clearer than before. She could already see the dark silhouette of the wreck. The cables of the stricken R.O.V. trailed down into the gloom.

At the wreck the team quickly moved inside the hold. The
’
Claw
’
followed slowly behind and entered in a cloud of bubbles.

On the bridge of the
’
Volante
’
Ali and Hutchinson were in direct radio contact with Natalie. The images from both R.O.V.
‘
s were blurred. Hutchinson spoke into his headset.

“
Nat we
’
re not getting very clear images as yet. I think the team might be stirring up a little silt. What can you see?
”

“
It
’
s fairly clear down here for us today. I can see the R.O.V.
”

“
How does it look?
”
Ali asked,
“
Is it damaged?
”

“
No I don
’
t think so. It
’
s vertical, pointing downwards, from where you
’
ve shut it down.
”

“
Can you see what
’
s pinning it down?
”

“
George is looking now. It appears to be wooden crates of some sort, I think, yes, they
’
re disintegrating as he
’
s touching them. The wood looks to be slimy. It
…
.
”
her voice trailed off.

On the bridge of the
’
Volante
’
they waited.

“
Have we lost radio contact?
”
Hutchinson asked.

Ali checked the equipment.

“
No. She stopped talking.
”

“
Natalie.
”

No response.

“
Natalie.
”

“
Just a second.
”

When her voice was next heard it sounded different, almost nervous.

“
Jim we
’
ve got a real problem down here.
”

“
What
’
s wrong Natalie?
”

Ali was frantically trying to move the claw into position.

“
George has moved some of the debris. We now know what is pinning down the R.O.V. Jim.
”

Hutchinson was staring at the images on the monitor coming from the claw. They still couldn
’
t see anything of importance.

“
We
’
re still not getting anything Nat. What
’
s causing it?
”

To his horror he heard her say.

“
Shells Jim. Artillery shells.
”

There was absolute silence. Natalie gave time for the words to sink in. Now Hutchinson
’
s voice was nervous.