Hennessy realized. He’ll do whatever he’s asked. So Hennessy took a deep breath and turned to Tanner.
“Why at night?” he asked.
“Why not?” said Tanner. “The F/Seven has lights. You’d have to use them anyway once you got far enough down, and would definitely have to use them once you started digging.”
“I don’t think that’s what he’s asking,” said Dantec coolly.
“No?” said Tanner. “What’s he asking, then?”
“If it’s legal.”
“Is that right?” said Tanner, turning to Hennessy. “Is that what you’re asking?”
Hennessy hesitated a moment, then nodded. “It just seems a little odd to me,” he said. “Isn’t all this, this whole crater, owned by Mexico? Wouldn’t it have been leased by a local retrieval organization? And what’s going on with the crew of this freighter? Are they military or not? If they are, why aren’t they wearing uniforms? Whose side are they on? If they’re not, then what the hell is going on?”
“You don’t need to think about that,” said Tanner. “I’m handling all the details. There’s no reason for you to worry.”
“But we’re the ones who will bear the brunt of it if things go wrong,” said Hennessy.
Tanner didn’t say anything.
“Aren’t I right?” asked Hennessy, appealing to Dantec. “Shouldn’t we be worried? Don’t you have a problem with this?”
Dantec said nothing.
Hennessy turned back to Tanner. “Shouldn’t I be worried?” he asked.
Tanner said, “I’ve already given you an answer.”
Hennessy sighed.
“Look,” said Tanner. “Don’t you want to be in on this? It could be extremely important, but that’s not to say there aren’t some risks. You have to decide for yourself, Hennessy. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to go, but you have to decide right now.”
Hennessy hesitated a long time. Whatever this was, legal or not, it was big, important. He couldn’t trust Tanner, but then again, he couldn’t really trust anybody at DredgerCorp. He’d known that when he signed on. But he’d always managed to avoid getting into scrapes before. Whether what they were doing was legal or not, he told himself, he could make sure that his part in it was legal. Besides, if things got too bad, he could walk later. He’d go along with them, but he wouldn’t trust Tanner as far as he could throw him.
He finally nodded.
“Good,” said Tanner. “Off you go, then, the both of you.”
14
He’d never been inside the bathyscaphe at night before. The fluorescent lighting, with darkness all around, struck him at once as harsh and dirty, like the office of a deranged dentist. It cast both his face and Dantec’s in stark relief.
They strapped into their seats, Hennessy at the controls and in front, Dantec just behind and to his right, beside the ballast release. The hoist lifted them up and over the water. They hung there swaying for a moment and then, suddenly, were released.
They crashed into the water, and the darkness became even more total. Dantec flicked on the exterior lights, which dimmed the lights inside. Hennessy checked the controls. He put in his earpiece and adjusted the microphone so it wasn’t scraping against the side of his cheek. He ran the F/7 briefly forward and backward, turned on the drill, and watched it swirl. He checked the sonar signal. He checked the fathometer and had Dantec verify the porthole seals. Everything seemed to be in order.
“This is Plotkin,” Hennessy said, speaking his code name into the mic. “Are you there, dropship? Are you reading me?”
Tanner’s voice crackled to life in his ears. The man was there on the holoscreen as well, his image crisp, well defined. “Hearing and seeing you loud and clear,” Tanner said. “Everything a go?”
“Roger,” said Hennessy. Dantec confirmed.
“Proceed when ready, Plotkin,” said Tanner.
Hennessy stayed for a moment with his hands on the controls, then cut the vid link and dived.
Now it is just a
“Why at night?” he asked.
“Why not?” said Tanner. “The F/Seven has lights. You’d have to use them anyway once you got far enough down, and would definitely have to use them once you started digging.”
“I don’t think that’s what he’s asking,” said Dantec coolly.
“No?” said Tanner. “What’s he asking, then?”
“If it’s legal.”
“Is that right?” said Tanner, turning to Hennessy. “Is that what you’re asking?”
Hennessy hesitated a moment, then nodded. “It just seems a little odd to me,” he said. “Isn’t all this, this whole crater, owned by Mexico? Wouldn’t it have been leased by a local retrieval organization? And what’s going on with the crew of this freighter? Are they military or not? If they are, why aren’t they wearing uniforms? Whose side are they on? If they’re not, then what the hell is going on?”
“You don’t need to think about that,” said Tanner. “I’m handling all the details. There’s no reason for you to worry.”
“But we’re the ones who will bear the brunt of it if things go wrong,” said Hennessy.
Tanner didn’t say anything.
“Aren’t I right?” asked Hennessy, appealing to Dantec. “Shouldn’t we be worried? Don’t you have a problem with this?”
Dantec said nothing.
Hennessy turned back to Tanner. “Shouldn’t I be worried?” he asked.
Tanner said, “I’ve already given you an answer.”
Hennessy sighed.
“Look,” said Tanner. “Don’t you want to be in on this? It could be extremely important, but that’s not to say there aren’t some risks. You have to decide for yourself, Hennessy. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to go, but you have to decide right now.”
Hennessy hesitated a long time. Whatever this was, legal or not, it was big, important. He couldn’t trust Tanner, but then again, he couldn’t really trust anybody at DredgerCorp. He’d known that when he signed on. But he’d always managed to avoid getting into scrapes before. Whether what they were doing was legal or not, he told himself, he could make sure that his part in it was legal. Besides, if things got too bad, he could walk later. He’d go along with them, but he wouldn’t trust Tanner as far as he could throw him.
He finally nodded.
“Good,” said Tanner. “Off you go, then, the both of you.”
14
He’d never been inside the bathyscaphe at night before. The fluorescent lighting, with darkness all around, struck him at once as harsh and dirty, like the office of a deranged dentist. It cast both his face and Dantec’s in stark relief.
They strapped into their seats, Hennessy at the controls and in front, Dantec just behind and to his right, beside the ballast release. The hoist lifted them up and over the water. They hung there swaying for a moment and then, suddenly, were released.
They crashed into the water, and the darkness became even more total. Dantec flicked on the exterior lights, which dimmed the lights inside. Hennessy checked the controls. He put in his earpiece and adjusted the microphone so it wasn’t scraping against the side of his cheek. He ran the F/7 briefly forward and backward, turned on the drill, and watched it swirl. He checked the sonar signal. He checked the fathometer and had Dantec verify the porthole seals. Everything seemed to be in order.
“This is Plotkin,” Hennessy said, speaking his code name into the mic. “Are you there, dropship? Are you reading me?”
Tanner’s voice crackled to life in his ears. The man was there on the holoscreen as well, his image crisp, well defined. “Hearing and seeing you loud and clear,” Tanner said. “Everything a go?”
“Roger,” said Hennessy. Dantec confirmed.
“Proceed when ready, Plotkin,” said Tanner.
Hennessy stayed for a moment with his hands on the controls, then cut the vid link and dived.
Now it is just a
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