“Something’s not right, Sam. I don’t buy this story.” The slightest of creases formed between his brows, displaying a concern he rarely visibly displayed.
“Don’t you want to run the show?” Sam asked, shrugging off Tom’s concern and taking a bite of a hot and fresh pizza. Sam shut his eyes for a moment, savoring the taste.
“You know I don’t have a problem with that. It’s the other thing that I’m not happy about…”
“What?”
“Sam. You and I have been best friends since I became the first person to ever beat the hell out of you at the 400-meter swimming meet in junior high school.” He frowned with disgust. “Then your dad let you skip school, so you could train every day until you beat me at the finals, bastard.”
Sam laughed, in recollection of good times.
“We have very few secrets between us, Sam. Heck, I even gave you the heads up that I was about to call off my engagement to Sarah. The only secret you’ve ever kept from me is what the hell happened in Afghanistan. Now, on the discovery of a ruin, which you tell me has something to do with an ancient race of Master Builders, and that has to do with the secret that you discovered in Afghanistan, you’re not even going to wait and run the archeological dive? Just so you can have a look at some old ship, which, if legend is correct, was never carrying anything of value and was left to dilapidate. Besides, it most likely had its timbers cut for firewood. No way. I don’t believe it…”
“It is precisely because of that secret, that I have to go…” Sam replied mysteriously. “I’ll return in two weeks, at the most. Soon, you’ll understand.”
“If the Mahogany Ship was so important to you, why don’t we both go after it, when we complete this job? Then you can put the full force of Deep Sea Expeditions behind the search.”
“The Mahogany Ship was the first shipwreck hunt I ever went on with my father and Danny. We got close, too. There were a number of legitimate leads, but after two months, the three of us had to concede that it didn’t exist. But I always knew it was out there, and there’s no way I’m going to let some rich kid, who inherited the earth — or at least half the valuable ores held beneath it, to literally stumble upon it by chance. No, this is my find. I want to make certain it’s done right!”
Tom could see Sam was emphatic. “Okay, and what about you?”
“What about me?” Sam asked.
“How are you going to dive on your own? Who are you going to use for your support crew?”
“Rodriguez is going to dive it himself, and there’s an Australian commercial diver on his team, as well as a geologist. Also, Rodriguez has a team of riggers who will provide topside support.”
“Do you even remember how much trouble you got into the last time I left you alone on a treasure hunt? I mean, you nearly died without my help, searching for that missing airship, the Magdalena.”
“The Magdalena was loaded with treasures of immense value.”
“And, you think the Mahogany Ship wasn’t?
“It may have been once, but by the time the first westerners arrived in Australia and laid their eyes upon it, the treasures were long gone, or else stolen.”
Tom pushed back from the table. Not a scrap of pizza remained. “What about the Spanish coin?”
“There may be a treasure chest worth of Spanish gold coins, but that sort of money isn’t anything worth interesting a man like Rodriguez about. I mean this guy has personal worth in excess of 25 billion U.S. dollars. He has no family, making him unencumbered, as well as one of the richest individuals on the planet.”
Tom wasn’t convinced. “In my meagre experience of treasure hunting, things that stay missing have a way of making people go crazy with desire and lust. Have you considered why such a billionaire is even interested in the damn ship?”
“He already told me. It’s a matter of national pride. He wants to prove that one of Magellan’s ships was the first to find Australia.”
A concerned frown marred Tom’s face.
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but I’m going to need an archeologist to get a better idea of what we’ve found,” Tom said.
“I agree, and I’ve already contacted just the right one.”
“Really? Who?”
“Bill — one of the best archeologists alive. I’ve wanted Bill on board with Deep Sea Expeditions ever since my dad suggested the program years ago. I’ve already made the call… Bill will be here in the morning.”
“William? What’s his last name?”
“No, it’s just Bill.”
Tom racked his mind to recall where he’d heard that name before, but he didn’t think he had. Somehow, Sam had never mentioned a man named Bill.
Michael Rodriguez smiled as he examined the list of requirements for his special project. It was long, detailed, and expensive. None of which mattered to him. Sam had asked him for the day to think about what would be required, and if he could leave his crew to help manage their current project.
Precisely two hours after being returned to the Maria Helena, he had written back with his demands. He wondered how Sam had procured such an extensive list in such a short time.
Yes, I’ve found just the right person to serve my needs, Michael mused.
Chapter Seven
The massive, purpose built cargo jet landed at Sydney International Airport with a rough jolt. It was technically an Airbus A380, but despite the original airframe, it resembled a supersized military cargo jet, crossed with the extravagant luxuries more often associated with a Columbian drug lord.
Sam’s eyes caught the sun from outside the window, and he turned his head to avoid it.
“Is it nice to be home, Mr. Reilly?” Rodriguez asked.
“Home? No, I was born stateside. This is my mother’s country… but it does feel like home, sometimes,” Sam replied. “Now that we’re here, are you going to tell me where you discovered that Spanish coin?”
“In some hills, west of a country town called Bendigo. Customs will clear us shortly, and then we will be on our way.”
Fifteen minutes later the ship was back in the air.
“You bribed customs?” Sam mused.
The Spaniard smirked. “No, of course not, but men of means have their ways.”
An hour later, the A380 landed on the small dirt runway, near Bendigo. It was a feat Rodriguez had told him cost him millions in engineering modifications to reduce the landing and takeoff distance for the monstrous aircraft to less than an average Airbus.
Even so, the massive aircraft used up every inch of the tiny runway, whose owners could have never predicted that such a mammoth plane would ever have need of it.
The engines, thrown into reverse to assist in braking, threw giant plumes of dirt up into the air, before the expert pilots turned her at the end of the runway. The aircraft then made its way along an open field to the side of the runway and made its final stop. It would sit in the open for the next few weeks.
Sam casually strolled down the plane’s automatic stairs.
A rusty sign read ‘Welcome to Bendigo.’
At the rear of the aircraft, the giant loading ramp below the high-mounted tail was retracted. More than ten tons of dive equipment, cables, and drills were already being loaded onto the five Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG SUV six-wheel drives. Each vehicle was then driven off the aircraft.
Sam walked toward the cars.
This was the sort of flamboyant finesse that his father would put on such a vehicle. He had requested a robust four-wheel drive SUV for use on this trip, given the location of the drill site. But only Rodriguez and his own father would have purchased five million-dollar plus luxury SUVs, which looked more like military hardware.