The Danger ( PDFDrive.com )

It was well after midnight, but the quiet of Côte Saint-Luc harbor was
shattered by the rattle and roar of the winch of the R/V Ponce de Léon. The
thousand-pound piece of equipment being lowered to the research deck was a
sight straight out of Star Wars. It looked like an eight-foot-tall metal-plated
robot, with side-mounted thrusters and mechanical claw hands.
It was Tin Man, Poseidon’s one-atmosphere suit, capable of taking a diver to
a depth of two thousand feet or more. Tad Cutter had signed it out at exactly
12:01 A.M. Saturday morning.
“I don’t see why this couldn’t wait until we all got some sleep,” yawned
Chris Reardon, guiding the huge suit into place for the ride to the wreck site.
With a grunt, he added, “This thing weighs a ton.”
“Half a ton,” corrected Marina.
“We’ve only got it for a day, and I’m not taking the chance of coming up
empty,” Cutter explained. “The kids are onto us. English is suspicious. It’s time
to claim the treasure before somebody beats us to it.” He signaled to Captain Bill
Hamilton in the wheelhouse. “Ready to go!”
Thunder rumbled as the Ponce de Léon picked its way out of the harbor, and
headed into open water. Distant lightning illuminated the overcast at the horizon.
They had not yet made it to the wreck site when Captain Hamilton cut lights
and power, and called his three passengers to the bridge. “There’s a ship ahead,”
he informed them. “Looks like an old clunker. The oil company has a few still
active.”
“Did they see us?” asked Marina.
“I don’t think so,” replied Hamilton. “I went dark as soon as they came up
on radar. They wouldn’t have visual contact yet.”
“You did the right thing,” Cutter approved. “Let’s stay here and play dead
until they pass by.”
“They won’t pass by,” Hamilton told him. “They’re anchored. In just about