“It happens now, or no one gets paid,” Holloway said.
“Another man has died!” Slater yelled.
Holloway took a step toward her, menacing, his face redder than ever. “Now, or no one gets paid,” he repeated. “I won’t be moved on this, so don’t waste your breath.”
Slater refused to back away from him, her face twisted in fury. “Fine. You think everything is about money? It’s not. I can come back here with another film crew, with different funding. You don’t own this footage.”
“I knew it!” Holloway said. “You’ve been planning something on the side, haven’t you?”
“You’re nuts,” Slater said. “I’m just reminding you that no matter how much money you have, no matter how many people you pay to kiss your ass, you don’t own me. I don’t need you.”
“I do,” Aston said quietly.
“What?” Slater’s anger tracked to him.
Aston hung his head. “I’m sorry, Jo, but I need his money. I’m in real trouble without it, and I’m out of time. I’ll go on my own. There’s no need for you to put yourself in danger.”
Holloway grinned like a cat with a mouse. “I guess you’d better go and suit up.”
Slater stared hard at Aston. “You and I need to have a long conversation.”
“When I get back,” he said.
She tossed her head and rested her fists on her hips. “When we get back.”
He pointed at the static-filled screen. “Didn’t you see what happened down there? You don’t have to come. I won’t let you come!”
Slater laughed. “You don’t own me any more than he does, swim-boy! I’m coming with you. You’re part of my documentary and if you go, I go. It would make for a pretty weak film to end it here. If it continues now, it continues with me.”
Aston held her eye for a moment, but her cold resolve was obvious. He shook his head and stalked away, furious at himself for the trouble he was in with Chang. If it wasn’t for those debts he’d still be cruising on a small research grant in Queensland.
Chapter 29
The moment Aston hit the water his worries dissolved. The cool, dark lake was a soothing balm for his jangled nerves, the silence a welcome change from the incessant bickering that had plagued the team. He allowed himself to float there for a moment, welcoming the brief respite from the topside world, ignoring for a moment that it would all return after this dive was finished. Assuming, of course, they didn’t end up snacks for a prehistoric predator.
Slater hit the water a few feet away. She kicked her flippered feet, slowly turning about, until she spotted him. He gave her a reluctant thumbs-up. She returned the signal and together they dove.
They had foregone the DPVs, trading a measure of speed for the ability to move in near-silence, and to potentially hide in small spaces. Each carried a dive bag with two remote cameras they would secure as close to the suspected lair as possible, even in it if they could. Once the cameras were in place and operational, they would return to the ship and wait, hoping the elusive creature would show itself in all its glory. The images they’d captured of it so far were compelling but not enough to offer definitive proof, at least by the standards of the scientific community, that a primordial creature, one believed to be long-extinct, still lived somewhere in Lake Kaarme.
Aston swam with powerful strokes, propelling his body down through the murky depths. Slater kept pace, swimming a few feet back off his right shoulder, a handheld underwater camera trained ahead of her. They descended into the channel, the blanket of darkness drawing over them. With it came a deep sense of trepidation. The story of the creature had first seemed an absurdity, and even after they’d gathered a few clues, it still seemed, at most, a remote possibility. Now that it was, to Aston’s mind, a reality, this mission seemed foolhardy, even reckless.
Just keep your wits about you. You’ve faced danger before and always come out all right. The thought echoed in his mind and he clung to it like a talisman as they left the channel and plunged into the dark passageway.
The light from his headlamp added a dull glow to his surroundings, illuminating a few feet ahead. Slater moved in beside him, adding the light from her own lamp. There wasn’t much to see, nothing the VUE hadn’t already revealed, so he swam harder, wanting nothing more than to get this over with and the two of them back to safety.
The current ran steadily in their faces, making their passage more difficult but also carrying away any silt they inadvertently stirred up. After several minutes of hard swimming, Aston enjoyed the familiar burn of exertion. It was a welcome feeling after so much time spent gazing at video screens and digital displays. He glanced over his shoulder to see if Slater was flagging at all, but she was keeping pace. The woman was hardly the stereotypical soft television personality. Perhaps when this was all over he’d have the chance to find out what other surprises she had in store.
As they approached the vertical passageway that led up to the lair, Aston’s heart began to race. What, if anything, would they find there? He wished he had more in the way of a weapon than the knife strapped to his thigh, but what could he possibly carry that would make any difference against a prehistoric beast of such massive size? If the creature’s hide was half as tough as he thought it might be, even a high-powered spear gun wouldn’t deal the thing any serious damage.
Slater tapped him on the arm and he turned his head in her direction. She pointed to the bag secured to her hip, then at the wall, and then held her palms up. Her meaning was clear — might as well start planting the cameras.
Aston nodded. Here, the camera would likely pick up a decent signal, it was close to the entrance to the lair, and the way was narrow enough that if the creature swam through, they ought to capture a lovely image of its smiling face.
Working quickly, he took one of her cameras and secured it into a fold of rock. Slater moved back to film the process. He turned it on, checked the signal, then waved a hand in front of it. A ring of white LEDs around its edge flared into life, triggered by movement. In the pitch dark of the tunnel, the small circle of lights illuminated the space like a flash bulb. They moved away, paused, and the lights blinked out again without further motion to activate the sensors. Aston gave a thumbs up and they were on their way again. He planted another camera at the spot where the passageway began its steep upward ascent, checked it and confirmed the signal was strong. He had half-hoped they’d get no signal at all, thus making a swim up to the beast’s purported home unnecessary, but if the VUE could send back images from up there, so could these cameras. Besides, Holloway expected them to make a visual inspection of the space. Perhaps, he had suggested, they might find a tooth or claw — something that could be studied and provide solid proof.
Aston turned to Slater, held up his hands, fingers spread, and pointed down. Wait here. She replied with an upraised middle finger and a shake of the head. He didn’t bother to argue.
Heart in his throat, he led the way up toward their destination. He swam hard, eager to get it over with. The darkness and creeping sense of peril quickly leached away the serenity that came with the dive, and his senses were on high alert. He realized he was breathing far too rapidly and would exhaust his air supply if he didn’t calm down. He needed to settle himself. Three slow, deep breaths, and he was close to normal again.
Finally, the entrance to the lair loomed ahead. Aston’s gut twisted in a knot at the sight of the circle of blackness. This was it. If the beast were lurking there, they could be done for. He suddenly found several religions and sent up prayers to God, Jesus, Vishnu, Poseidon, and one to Neil DeGrasse Tyson, just to be a smartass, as he passed into the widening tunnel.