The two of them had never been on the same page.
One of the questions that lingered in Alex’s mind was, why? Why had his father always seemed to carry some type of grudge against him? Why had it taken his father’s death to unlock his grandfather’s bequest?
It felt like his father and grandfather had an inexplicable rivalry between them, as if they’d been arguing over the possession of Alex, the son, and the grandson.
His father had wanted Alex to become one thing, his grandfather another.
Neither of them had waited to discover what Alex wanted for himself.
When he was still alive, Alex’s grandfather openly demonstrated his love for him much more than his father did. Sometimes, his grandfather had sad eyes. He seemed filled with secret regrets, but essentially, he was a man who was satisfied with the way he’d lived his life.
Not so, his father.
He’d seemed consumed with anger from Alex’s earliest memories, until his relatively early death. What if he’d lived longer? What would he have done? What if William had left his fortune to Alex before his father’s death?
Would Sam Reilly’s dive reveal the truth?
He turned away from the balcony, switched his TV back on, and continued to play his game. The troops on both sides of the battle appeared restless.
There would not be a prolonged siege.
The invaders were already setting up their tanks and preparing to storm his fortress. The question of how many lives would be lost in the process remained to be seen.
He selected five of his soldiers. Into his gaming microphone he said, “Prepare the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge for demolition.”
“Sir?” the mercenary replied.
“Wire it up. I’m hoping we won’t have to use it. But right now, it looks likely.”
“Understood.”
Everything still depended on Sam Reilly’s next move.
Alex grinned.
At least he had chosen the right man to play his game.
Chapter Forty-Six
The Sea King helicopter hovered directly above the Maria Helena, as the ship swayed in four feet of gently rolling swell. At the pilot controls next to Sam, Genevieve adeptly maneuvered the large helicopter onto the small helipad to the aft of the vessel.
The familiar sight of his ship brought a smile to Sam’s face.
The helicopter’s skids touched down on the helipad and Genevieve powered down. Sam unclipped his harness, removed his headphones, and stepped out while the rotors continued to whine overhead.
Matthew, his skipper, greeted him with a firm handshake. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m all right,” Sam said, continuing his steady stride across the deck. “Better now that I have something to work on.”
Matthew raised a concerned eyebrow. “What are the odds? Do you think the terrorist will go through with the detonation?”
“No.”
“But you’re worried what you’ll find hidden inside the Clarion Call?”
Sam nodded. “Worse than that. I’m worried the terrorist might not be able to stop what he’s begun.”
“I can imagine that you have every agency in the United States working to assist you.” Matthew glanced at Genevieve, who was securing the Sea King to the helipad. “As you know, everyone on board is at your disposal — willing to do anything that you need to get the job done.”
“I had no doubts, but thank you anyway.” Sam stopped at a portal, ran his eyes across the deck, toward the bridge. “Where are you up to?”
Matthew said, “We’ve settled directly above the Clarion Call. Tom’s located her hull on the bathymetric sonar.”
Sam exhaled. He didn’t expect them to have trouble locating the ship, but it was still a relief. One less thing to go wrong. “Where are Tom and Veyron?”
“They’re both down below, preparing the two atmospheric diving suits for the dive.”
“All right,” Sam said. “I’ll join them there and we’ll dive as soon as the suits are ready.”
“Understood.” Matthew paused. “Any idea what you’re hoping to find down there?”
Sam grinned. “Answers.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Sam quickly stepped down the two flights of stairs into the dive room, which was housed between the Maria Helena’s large twin hulls. Built into the Maria Helena’s hull the moon pool looked more like something out of an old James Bond movie. Aside from looking cool, it served a much more useful purpose. It allowed for an easy — all weather — dive platform from which to launch a variety of high tech submersibles and SCUBA missions.
To the western edge of the moon pool, stood two large atmospheric diving suits. To Sam’s mind, they more closely resembled space suits out of a 1960s science fiction movie, than the highly practical deep-sea diving machines they were.
Veyron removed his diagnostic tools from the internal computer, and looked up to greet him. “Welcome back, Sam.”
“Thanks. Where are you at?”
“They’re both right to go.”
“Great,” Sam said. “Where’s Tom?”
“He’s just having a bite to eat. He’ll be down in a minute.”
“Ah.” Sam grinned. “Everything’s normal. Washington D.C. is under threat of a nuclear bomb and Tom’s worried about his stomach.”
Tom entered the room holding two sandwiches. “It’s about keeping my energy up, so we can continue to fight the good fight,” he said, walking the steps. He held up two wrapped sandwiches. “I thought you might be hungry, too. You want one?”
“Thanks, Tom. Come to mention it, I haven’t eaten in twelve hours.”
Ravenous, Sam took the sandwich, devouring it quickly.
His eyes turned to the giant atmospheric diving suits. The new suits were a recent acquisition for the company to replace their previous, older model diving suits. They were custom made by Nuytco Research Ltd in Vancouver, and based on their Exosuit model. The two Exosuits were designed to match Sam and Tom’s individual body shapes. Tom’s Exosuit was nearly seven-foot-eight inches in height, while Sam’s was a little closer to six-foot-four.
Each one provided an articulated submersible of anthropomorphic form which resembled a suit of armor, with elaborate pressure joints to allow freedom of movement while maintaining an internal pressure of one atmosphere. They could be used for very deep dives of up to 1000 feet. Unlike the standard product, these were designed to work autonomously, without an umbilical.
The suits eliminated the majority of physiological dangers associated with deep-sea diving. The occupant need not decompress, there is no need for special gas mixtures, and there is no danger of decompression sickness or nitrogen narcosis.
To be classified as an A1 submersible, the life support systems must last at least 72 hr. Nuytco timed the Exosuit’s duration at over 85 hr.
The suit keeps pressure from getting to its occupant with a combination of rigidity and flexibility. The Exosuit is covered in an A356-T6 aluminum alloy skin cast to an average thickness of 0.375 in. Thicker ribs support high-stress areas of the suit. The suit is cast into molds that can also accommodate titanium alloys that withstand greater working depths.
The suit’s automatic life support system was fully self-contained. It even provided the occupant with food, water and the ability to excrete bodily waste through a system comparable to that used by astronauts. Additionally, the integrated quad thruster system allowed the pilot to navigate easily underwater, while the hydraulic powered limbs allowed equal maneuverability and strength while out of the water.