prepare for it anyway. Angel had been watching for any approaching vessels, and one must have appeared while he was down in the wreck.
“How much time do I have before they arrive?” Chapel asked. There was no question in his mind that the Cubans would approach and board Donny’s yacht as soon as they spotted it.
“None. They’ve already signaled the yacht that they’re coming aboard. In a few minutes they’ll be boarding and they’ll probably search the whole boat. You need to be topside right now.”
Chapel grunted in frustration. “What if I just stay down here until they’re gone?” he asked. “That’ll give me plenty of decompression time. If I come up now, I’m at real risk for decompression sickness.”
“You’re going to have to chance it. Chapel, your name is on the passenger list.”
Crap , Chapel thought. He hadn’t thought of that. When he came aboard Donny’s yacht, Donny had insisted he sign in. He would have preferred to come aboard incognito, but it hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time.
“If you’re not present when they board the yacht, they’ll have way too many questions and they’ll be able to claim the yacht is evidence in an ongoing investigation,” Angel told him. “They’ll impound it and tow it back to Cuba to try to figure out what’s going on. You can stay down and wait for them to leave with the yacht, but then you’ll be surfacing in twenty miles of open water with no way home but to swim there.”
Worse than that, Donny and all his party guests would be arrested and thrown in a Cuban jail until they could explain what had happened to the missing man on the guest list. He couldn’t let that happen to his friends.
“All right, Angel. I’m going to have to go back into radio silence for a minute. I’ll contact you when I hit the surface.”
“Understood. The Cubans are coming in from behind and slightly to starboard of the yacht. If you’re going to make bubbles or a splash, try to use the bulk of the yacht to cover your ascent.”
“Got it.” Chapel let go of the cable and swam backward for a second. This is going to hurt , he thought. Coming up from this depth without decompression stops made it inevitable that he was going to get the bends, rebreather or no.
It couldn’t be helped. He unbuckled his weight belt and let it fall away into the murk. He shed as many of his pouches and pieces of equipment as he could, even the dive computer, then he started kicking toward the surface. His natural buoyancy started lifting him up immediately, straight toward the waves above, but even that wasn’t fast enough. He unclipped the helium tank from his abdomen and pointed its nozzle downward, then threw open its valve and used it like a miniature rocket booster.
Up. Straight up. A hell of a lot faster than he’d gone down.
OFF CAY SAL BANK: JUNE 11, 01:12
As Chapel approached the surface his eyes started working again. A little moonlight was coming down to meet him, and it turned the surface of the waves into a vast rolling mirror, obscured by a large dark mass. As he got closer he saw that shadow split into two. One part was the yacht, big and square and right over his head. The other must be the Cuban coast guard ship. It was only about half the size of the yacht, but it had the sleek, streamlined curves of a warship and looked like a shark nuzzling up against a bloated sunfish.
As he got even closer he could make out a few details. The Cuban ship had tied up to the side of the yacht, which had to mean the Cubans had already boarded. Chapel was going to have to sneak back on board and hope he could mix in with the partygoers so no one noticed he hadn’t been there the whole time.
Angel could help him get a feel for how things were up there. As he neared the surface he reached for the anchor cable again. “Angel?” he asked. “What can you tell me? Am I too late?”
There was no answer except the steady hiss that meant his earphones were working.
“How much time do I have before they arrive?” Chapel asked. There was no question in his mind that the Cubans would approach and board Donny’s yacht as soon as they spotted it.
“None. They’ve already signaled the yacht that they’re coming aboard. In a few minutes they’ll be boarding and they’ll probably search the whole boat. You need to be topside right now.”
Chapel grunted in frustration. “What if I just stay down here until they’re gone?” he asked. “That’ll give me plenty of decompression time. If I come up now, I’m at real risk for decompression sickness.”
“You’re going to have to chance it. Chapel, your name is on the passenger list.”
Crap , Chapel thought. He hadn’t thought of that. When he came aboard Donny’s yacht, Donny had insisted he sign in. He would have preferred to come aboard incognito, but it hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time.
“If you’re not present when they board the yacht, they’ll have way too many questions and they’ll be able to claim the yacht is evidence in an ongoing investigation,” Angel told him. “They’ll impound it and tow it back to Cuba to try to figure out what’s going on. You can stay down and wait for them to leave with the yacht, but then you’ll be surfacing in twenty miles of open water with no way home but to swim there.”
Worse than that, Donny and all his party guests would be arrested and thrown in a Cuban jail until they could explain what had happened to the missing man on the guest list. He couldn’t let that happen to his friends.
“All right, Angel. I’m going to have to go back into radio silence for a minute. I’ll contact you when I hit the surface.”
“Understood. The Cubans are coming in from behind and slightly to starboard of the yacht. If you’re going to make bubbles or a splash, try to use the bulk of the yacht to cover your ascent.”
“Got it.” Chapel let go of the cable and swam backward for a second. This is going to hurt , he thought. Coming up from this depth without decompression stops made it inevitable that he was going to get the bends, rebreather or no.
It couldn’t be helped. He unbuckled his weight belt and let it fall away into the murk. He shed as many of his pouches and pieces of equipment as he could, even the dive computer, then he started kicking toward the surface. His natural buoyancy started lifting him up immediately, straight toward the waves above, but even that wasn’t fast enough. He unclipped the helium tank from his abdomen and pointed its nozzle downward, then threw open its valve and used it like a miniature rocket booster.
Up. Straight up. A hell of a lot faster than he’d gone down.
OFF CAY SAL BANK: JUNE 11, 01:12
As Chapel approached the surface his eyes started working again. A little moonlight was coming down to meet him, and it turned the surface of the waves into a vast rolling mirror, obscured by a large dark mass. As he got closer he saw that shadow split into two. One part was the yacht, big and square and right over his head. The other must be the Cuban coast guard ship. It was only about half the size of the yacht, but it had the sleek, streamlined curves of a warship and looked like a shark nuzzling up against a bloated sunfish.
As he got even closer he could make out a few details. The Cuban ship had tied up to the side of the yacht, which had to mean the Cubans had already boarded. Chapel was going to have to sneak back on board and hope he could mix in with the partygoers so no one noticed he hadn’t been there the whole time.
Angel could help him get a feel for how things were up there. As he neared the surface he reached for the anchor cable again. “Angel?” he asked. “What can you tell me? Am I too late?”
There was no answer except the steady hiss that meant his earphones were working.
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