Gordon continued to fumble around, his fingers acting like insect feelers. After a few careful minutes, he could tell that there were indeed a number of levers and gauges along the walls. This has got to be that escape boat, he thought.
His hands soon felt something flat and hard, with slightly protruding lumps. Gordon figured that he was now stooping over some sort of control console, and the bulges would have to be buttons and switches, but for what?
Gordon’s shoulders trembled. If he pushed the wrong button or flipped the wrong switch, he might just end up dead. Working his way back to where the hatch was, he spent more precious time in making sure the entryway was sealed tight before heading back towards the apparent console.
Running his hands along the sides of the countertop and working his way to the middle, he sensed there were at least six to seven buttons on the panel, plus two switches near the upper right hand corner.
Gently tugging at the switches, he felt plenty of resistance, implying that it would be a hard mechanism to flip. Circuit breakers are usually built that way. I can’t take any chances with the levers or the buttons, so this is my best bet.
It’s now or never, he thought as all ten of his fingers gripped the switches and pushed them forward.
After a few seconds, the overhead lights within the chamber flickered to life. Gordon looked around in astonishment as his eyes once again adjusted to the sudden brightness. The module itself was indeed built like a hyperbaric lifeboat, but it seemed there was an outer steel hull to keep the vessel intact due to the intense pressure of the outside.
Moving along the sides of the chamber, Gordon quickly studied the gauges before pulling several levers. He remembered his years working as a tender, and he knew how to mix the gasses properly for an emergency decompression. The chamber had enough air for seventy-two hours, and could normally fit up to twelve people, so he definitely had plenty to spare.
I can probably decompress in three, maybe even two days if I do this right, he thought as he stared at a sealed outer hatch along the opposite end of the capsule. The thick porthole showed nothing but darkness outside. If I can’t figure out a way to detach this thing from the habitat then I’ll have to chance it by blowing open that hatch and shooting up to the surface after the decompression is done.
Opening one of the side cabinets, he grabbed a pouch containing fresh water and tore the lid open, gulping the nourishing liquid down his parched throat. There were emergency rations in all lifeboats, and this one was no exception. He even found several sealed packages containing emergency escape suits, like the ones found in submarines.
Sitting down on one of the chairs, Gordon let out a short chuckle. He had beaten the odds so far, and now he was in the final stretch. Five hundred feet above is the ocean’s surface. It’ll be a hell of a swim going up, but as long as I don’t hold my breath I ought to make it.
40
THE SUN HAD ALREADY begun to set when the Queequeg finished leading the Wanderer towards the work barge. Chloe and Ethan stood inside the Wanderer’s bridge, both of them staring in mute fascination at the massive, semi-submersible platform looming in front of them.
Resembling an offshore oil rig from the far distance, the square construction barge’s total area measured nearly a kilometer in length. Situated below the platform were six massive support columns aligned along each flank. Beneath these slightly submerged struts were underwater pontoons, with six bladed propellers on their sides, enabling the entire barge to maintain a speed of up to 10 knots even in high swells, while giving the crews stationed on top a steady platform to do whatever was needed.
Ethan pointed towards a set of unused cranes jutting out from the flattened base. “Not a lot of activity going on.”
Chloe was standing closer to the window, and she quickly stooped lower while scanning the barge with a pair of binoculars. “Over there! I see a lifeboat that’s moored to one of the side docks.”
Ethan nodded. It wasn’t a hyperbaric lifeboat, yet it was an encouraging sign nonetheless. “So we know a few of them did make it here, at least.”
Captain Owens personally manned the helm controls as he guided the Wanderer towards the designated docking pier near the side of one of the support columns. “What if they request a search of this boat?”
“We’ll play it by ear,” Ethan said. “But we won’t let them onboard until they allow us to search that barge and the underwater habitat first.”
CHLOE AND ETHAN CLIMBED up the ladder leading to the construction barge’s main platform. In addition to the low level buildings situated along the sides, a landing pad jutted out from the vessel’s starboard bow. They could both see a Boeing Chinook 234LR transport helicopter depositing what seemed to be several cargo crates from a sky hook onto the stage before lifting off again.
The moment they got onto the edge of the platform, Liger and Sandor approached them from the opposite direction. Ethan stood right next to Chloe and gave a slight tug at her elbow, a reminder to keep her temper in check.
Sandor introduced himself while glancing in the direction of two uniformed security guards standing several meters away. “I’m a very busy man, but I took some time off just to meet the two of you personally. While I understand your concerns, I must tell you that the situation is under control, and Morgenstern Oceanic will issue an official statement soon.”
Chloe felt like screaming at him, but she knew that they were both in enemy territory, and it was best to go the diplomatic route. “I’m afraid that’s not good enough. I have a relative who was part of the Skandi Aurora’s crew, and I need to know what his condition is.”
“You do? Who?”
“Gordon Gietz,” Chloe said. “He’s a sat diver and he’s my brother. I need to know what happened to him.”
Liger eyed her with a light chuckle. “I knew it was you, Chloe. Long time no see.”
Chloe glared at him. “Are you in charge of the dive teams?”
Liger shook his head. “I’m afraid not. As you can tell, I have my own team working on something else.”
“Then who was the diving supervisor of the Aurora?”
“That would be Matt Mullins.”
“I need to talk to him, right now or—”
Sandor cut her off. “We’ve already… evacuated the survivors. So I’m afraid he’s not here.”
Ethan could tell the other man was being evasive. Both he and Chloe had hidden their smartphones underneath their clothing, and they had activated their devices’ audio recorders before they had even gotten on the platform. “Do you confirm that this Matt Mullins is alive, then?”
“I didn’t say that,” Sandor said. “I shall only state that we were able to retrieve some survivors, but we’re still in the process of… identifying them all.”
“How many survivors did you rescue?” Chloe asked.
Sandor hesitated once more before answering her. “I… cannot give you the exact count as of yet.”
“You’re not really telling us anything,” Ethan said.
Sandor’s icy demeanor didn’t change. “Like I said, it is too soon to give you exact details. All I can say is your offer to help is no longer needed. The situation is under control.”
“What about my brother?” Chloe demanded.
Liger gave a casual shrug. “If your brother is part of the group of survivors we picked up then I’m sure he’ll contact you very soon. If not, then I guess it’s just too bad.”