Return to The Deep (From The Deep Book 2) (12 page)

"You see that, Jacques? I'm betting there might well be some structure intact if we can get in. It looks to be like the base of the body of water in which this thing made its lair, was built around the seabed rather than the ice." He panned the R.O.V back level. "If we can go in here through the crack in the rock, we should be able to ascend and see if there is anything left to see."

"You mean descend, monsieur Decker," Jacques corrected. "Anything left would be on the floor now, no?"

"You're right, of course," Decker said. "Why don’t we go and take a look."

Decker piloted the sub into the darkness, flicking the high powered lights across the front of the unit on to full power. The ocean came back to life, the lights barely penetrating the gloom.

"Careful, Mr Decker. Do you see the evidence of the collapse? There, to the right?"

"Yeah, I see it," Decker said under his breath, banking away from the huge boulder of ice which Jacques referred to. Palms sweating, Decker hesitated for a moment, watching the swirling microbes and algae as it danced across the illuminated field of view. "Okay, let's see what we can see."

Decker pushed the nose of the R.O.V down, moving forward at a descending angle towards the floor. All around he could see evidence of the collapse and the tremendous forces of nature that had been at work.

"Jesus, would you look at this," Decker muttered. "Those ice blocks are the size of houses. They've been tossed around with ease."

"Be careful, it looks tight up ahead," Jacques said.

"I see it. Hang on."

Decker teased the controls, turning the R.O.V on its side and going under a horizontal block of ice. Beyond, the field of view opened beyond the reach of the miniature sub's lights.

"I think we're in," Decker said, unable to hide the smile, which grew on one side of his face.

"Yes, this is it!" Jacques said, also struggling to hide his excitement. "You reached the cave."

"Now, let’s see if we can find our creature."

Decker went slowly, inching as close to the bottom as he could amid the huge boulders of rock and ice, which littered what, used to be the natural bowl of the creature’s lair.

"It seems like apart from the initial debris, the bulk of the roof collapse left most of the underwater area untouched," Decker said as he moved around a particularly large ice formation. The water is so cold in here that the ice doesn’t melt.”

"Could it be possible this creature survived?" Jacques said, glancing wide eyed at Decker.

"Unlikely. Look at the debris all over the bottom. As big as it was, I don’t think-"

Decker stopped speaking, staring at the screen.

"Merde," Jacques mumbled, as he too stared in astonishment.

It was only partially visible, most of its lower three quarters crushed under an immense pile of ice. The forward portion of the creature was devoid of skin, its bones standing out in stark white in the glare of the sub's lights. Even devoid of flesh, the size of the animal was almost impossible to comprehend. It was plain to see it was a force of nature, and for the first time, Decker was grateful it was dead. He piloted the sub closer to the gargantuan skull, which was on its side, half buried in silt and rock.

"Those teeth," Jacques mumbled.

"I see them. What do you think, fifteen, maybe twenty inches long?"

"More. I'd say twenty five."

"I’m going to try to snag one," Decker said, pausing to wipe his hands on his pale blue jumpsuit. "Deploying the mechanical arm."

Decker flicked a switch. From the underbelly of the R.O.V, the three pronged stainless steel appendages extended into view on screen.

"Okay, I’m moving into position," Decker said, then turned towards the watching pilot. "Jacques, would you operate the arm? I never did get the hang of it."

"Of course, Monsieur Decker. Please switch control over to me."

Decker flipped a switch, giving the pilot control of the retractable arm from a secondary console.

"Oaky, I’ll keep her steady," Decker said, a light sweat forming on his brow. "The bones have been down here for a while now, so you should be able to dislodge one of the teeth from the jawbone easily enough."

Jacques didn’t answer. Instead, he manipulated the appendage with much more grace and Dexterity than Decker would have ever been able to. The billionaire watched as the three pronged arm wrapped around one of the teeth. Jacques manipulated the controls, and the arm moved up and down, trying to pry the tooth free.

"It's not moving, we need more leverage," Jacques said.

"Okay, maintain grip. On three, pull back. I’ll pull the R.O.V up at the same time. That should give us the leverage we need.”

"Yes, Mr Decker, understood."

"Oaky, are you ready?"

"Oui."

"Alright, here we go. On three. One. Two. Three. Pull!"

In perfect synchronisation, both men pulled back on their respective controls. The tooth popped free as the R.O.V ascended, bumping into the ice above the creature's skull. The impact skewed the mini sub, causing the arm to lose its grip on the tooth, which sank towards the floor.

"Shit, don’t lose it," Decker said as he recovered and stabilised the vehicle.

"It's okay, I see it," Jacques said. "There, by the first vertebrae."

Decker looked where the Frenchman was pointing on screen.

"Yep, I see it. Good eye, Jacques."

Decker lowered the nose and inched towards the enormous skull and the prize they had almost lost. The Frenchman extended the mechanical arm, and with graceful ease, picked up the tooth.

"Got it," he said, grinning at Decker.

"Fantastic work, you just earned yourself one hell of a bonus," Decker said. “Just don’t lose it."

"Merci, Mr Decker. The tooth will be quite safe until we reach the surface. The R.O.V has a sample box in its underbelly. It will be safe there until we are back on board the Emerald."

"Excellent. A successful mission all around," Decker said.

"Mister Decker, forgive me for asking, but what will you do now you have the tooth?"

Decker smiled. "Jacques, in this world, you can have all the money in the world and still be powerless without a little thing called leverage, and that tooth, my Gaelic friend, is a great big chunk of it."

"But still, what will you do?"

"Whatever I want to Jacques," Decker replied with a smile, "whatever the hell I want to."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Back at the motel, the mood hadn’t been improved by the trip to the bar. Jim sat on one of the two beds, staring at the television screen. Marie had returned to her position on the floor and she had been joined by Fernando. Joanne and Tom were on the other bed, also watching the news. There was no desire to speak. All of them knew the situation even if they were no closer to knowing what to do about it. Although they had all had a little to drink, it was only Jim who had indulged himself, and was glassy eyed as he stared through the television to whatever private oblivion he was imagining.

The news crews were now reporting from both locations. One crew was at the beach, the other by the roadside where the driver had been killed. Both scenes were taped off and surrounded by crowds of rubberneckers who were trying to get a look at the grisly view.

"I wish they'd show something else already," Tom said as he adjusted position.

"They won’t," Joanne replied. "This is big news around here."

"It still doesn’t help us to figure out what we're gonna do," Fernando interjected.

"For now we should just-"

There was a knock on the door.

Worried glances were exchanged as Tom started to get off the bed.

"No, ignore it," Jim whispered.

"I can’t, they'll know we're in here. The TV and the lights will give us away."

"It could be anyone though, it's too risky."

"It will look more suspicious if we don’t answer. Everyone just stay calm," Tom said as he crossed the room.

He took a moment to compose himself, gave a final glance to the others, and then opened the door.

Tom immediately recognised the man from the bar. He was distinct enough anyway as is, without the obvious disability of the missing hand.

"You're those kids from the bar," the man said, his accent heavy Australian.

"Did you follow us here?" Tom said as Fernando and Joanne joined him at the door.

"Yeah, I followed you."

"Why?"

"Why d'ya think?" Greg said with a half-smile.

"Sorry, you have the wrong people," Joanne said, reaching past Tom and starting to close the door.

"I don’t think so, girly," Greg said. "I don’t think so at all."

"If you don’t go away, we'll be forced to call the police," she countered.

"Come on," he said, "we both know you won’t do that."

"Buddy, you don’t know shit," Tom said.

"I know more than you think. For example, I know that whatever was on that trailer you stole, wasn’t a whale like they’re saying on the news."

"Look, I’m sorry, but we don't know what you're talking about," Joanne said.

"No, maybe
you
don’t, but he does," Greg replied, pointing at Tom. "I can see it in his eyes. He knows what he's done, what kind of thing he's set free, don’t you?"

Tom looked at Joanne, too shocked to formulate a response.

"If you kids really wanna know what it is you’re dealing with, you better let me in. Unless of course, you want to get into it right here on the doorstep."

"What do you know about it?" Tom said.

Greg held up his stump. "I know it well enough. Let’s just say that for now."

"Alright, you better come in."

"Tom!"

"No, Joanne. It's obvious he knows about this. Maybe he can help us."

"You should listen to your friend," Greg said, grinning at Joanne. "Believe me, you're gonna want to hear this."

With nothing else to say, Greg walked into the motel room. He turned the wooden chair at the dresser around to the face the inquisitive group and sat down. The others perched on the bed, watching and waiting to see what would be said. Greg looked at them each in turn, trying to figure out if they actually knew the magnitude of what they had done.

"Look, pal, you better start talking fast about who you are and what you know," Jim said, his agitation plain to see.

"Hold your horses, kid. I'm getting to it," Greg said, taking another few seconds to gather his thoughts. Finally ready, he went on. "The name's Michaels. Greg Michaels. Five years ago, I had a thriving shark fishing business. I had a life, I was getting by, or at least I was until I had an encounter with one of those things you freed. In the end, it cost me my business, my hand, and any worthwhile aspect of my life. I had my suspicions the government would have something to do with it. This just proves my point. Now, you lot are responsible for lettin' this thing loose."

"Look, take a step back. You're rushing ahead here," Tom said, glancing at the others. "You need to explain."

"I'll explain alright, and then we all need to talk about what happens next."

Greg waited for any protest, and then continued, recalling the memories with ease.

"It happened when I took a client with the intention of going shark spotting off the coast of Australia..."

For the next thirty minutes, Greg told his story, leaving out nothing, giving every detail as he remembered it. For the duration of his account, the others watched, captivated by the horrific scenes as Greg described them. It was the first time he had spoken out loud about what had happened, and he found that to say it, cut him even deeper than just the memories. He finished his account, and waited to see how the others would react. Fernando was the one who spoke first, his voice barely loud enough to hear.

"We didn’t know. I mean, how could we have known?"

"No good feeling sorry now, kid. It's done, and this thing is free."

"Look, Mr Michaels, I’m sorry for what happened to you, I really am. You have to understand this isn’t our fault," Tom said.

"Never said it was."

"So, what happens now? Are you going to turn us in to the police?" Joanne asked.

The others watched and waited, all apart from Jim who was thinking about the flip knife in his jeans and how quickly he could get to it. However, any course of action was diverted by Greg's next words.

"No, I'm not gonna turn you in."

"So, what is it you want from us?" Tom said.

"Isn’t it obvious?"

"Look, if it's blackmail, you're wasting your time. We don’t have any money and-"

"Relax, Girly, it's not blackmail," Greg said with a grin, cutting Joanne off. "What I want from you is help. Help to put this right. I want you to come with me and kill this thing."

"Thanks for the offer," Tom said with a half-smile, "but we don’t want any part of this. We're already in enough trouble as it is. Best of luck though."

Something changed in Greg's face then. It may have been something as simple as a trick of the light, or maybe it was the way his eyes took on a darkness. Whatever it was, it was enough to scare Tom into silence.

"I don’t think you understand," Greg said quietly. "I wasn’t giving you an option. You people
will
help me to kill this thing. You were responsible for letting it loose, and as stupid as that was, this gives me the perfect chance to get my revenge."

"Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t force us to do shit," Jim said.

"I wouldn’t be so sure," Greg fired back, swelling in confidence. "See, I have a buddy of mine waiting outside. He's just waiting to call the police and tell them everything about you. He's very thorough. He even took photos of you as you were leaving the bar. If you refuse to help me, you won’t get five miles before every copper in America is looking for you."

"You're bluffing," Joanne said without conviction.

"Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. You can all choose to ignore me and throw me out of this room right now in the hope that you're right, but if I were you, I don’t think I'd want to take that chance. Jesus, if you think it's scary having to hide out now, imagine what it will be like when your faces are plastered all over the news. You won’t even be able to take a shit without wondering if someone's gonna kick the door down and arrest you."

"Please, you can’t make us do this," Tom said. "We need to hide out, lay low. You have to see it from our point of view."

"I sympathise, I really do. Doesn’t change a thing though."

"Please, you can’t ask us to do this. We don’t even have a boat," Fernando said.

"I have. Way I see it; it's as good a place as any to hide out for a while. It must be better than sitting around in here and wondering how long it will be before they find you."

"What if we refuse?" Jim said. Unlike the others, he didn’t seem afraid. If anything, he looked angry.

Keep an eye on this one.

Greg heeded the inner warning as he replied. "As I said, it's up to you. As the girly said, I could well be bluffing. Then again, you have to ask yourself why would I? Unlike you, I don’t have anything to lose. Seems to me like finding and killing this fish would be a big step towards righting some wrongs. To me, I say that gives us some common ground to work on."

"Look, Mr Michaels-"

"Greg."

"Look, Greg," Tom went on, "this is a big decision. You can’t expect us just to give you an answer right away. We need some time to think."

"Of course you do, I understand that," Greg said, standing and setting the chair back at the dresser. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded scrap of paper. "That's where my boat is. It's called the Sea Star. End of the dock. Take a little while to think things through. If you're not there by six am, I’ll assume you have declined my offer. When that happens, I'll have no option but to inform the authorities where you are."

"Six am? That’s only a few hours from now. It’s not enough time for us to decide." Fernando whined. "Why the big rush?"

"Because we need to act now. If we wait any longer, then this fish is gonna grow to its full size, and then we're gonna have a
real
problem."

Greg walked to the door and opened it, then turned back to face the group. "You might be tempted to take your chances and run. I know I would be. If that’s what you decide, then I can’t stop you. I just hope you have a damn good place to go."

"Why?" Tom asked.

"Well, it seems to me you busted open a government secret. People are already asking questions and they’ll want a scapegoat so they don’t tarnish their image. Do you think they'll have a problem pinning it on a bunch of dumb kids like you lot?"

"But it was an accident," Marie said, voice wavering. "We didn’t know it would happen like this."

Fernando grabbed her hand. "She’s right, we didn’t know."

"Hey, for the record, I believe you," Greg said, "but you can bet your ass they won’t. They'll catch you and make an example of you. A warning to others not to fuck with them."

He looked at them for a few seconds more, letting the words sink in. "Anyway, think about it. Six o clock. If you don’t show, at six oh-one, your faces become national news."

With that, he left, closing the door behind him. Of course, he didn’t have their photographs, or someone waiting in the wings to expose them for who they were. He was, however, a hell of a good liar. It had served him well over the years, and he was sure it had done so again. For all the bravado, he could see they were just kids who had gotten in too deep. There was no guilt in using that to his advantage. It seemed fate had actually stopped kicking him in the balls for once, and had given him an opportunity finally to get some vengeance for the misery that had filled his life for the last few years. As much as he tried to deny it, he had been dead inside for a long time apart from the thirst for revenge. It burned deep, and he knew even if it meant going to extremes, he would do it in order to get the job done.