seaward. He peered in the direction indicated and saw a shark thrashing in a pink spreading cloud of its own blood. Another fin swerved and headed for the wounded creature slamming into it, creating a boiling foam of tearing flesh. They had to hurry with their gruesome harvest.
Cooper fought to avoid being overcome by the oil fumes as the lifeboat approached the rubber raft, in which lay a lifejacketed body, slumped on the bottom. A crewman grabbed the handhold on the raft and secured it to the stern. Keeping an eye on the nearest shark fin, Cooper made his way down the pitching boat to the stern and leaned down, hauling on the line until the raft was fast against the side of the boat. He leaned over and grabbed the body by the shoulder of the life vest, rolling it on its back. The face was the dead white color of a fish belly and bloated. There was no charring. He picked up the hand. It, too, was white and grossly swollen, with some fingernails torn off. The man had not burned to death. He appeared to have boiled to death! Cooper braced his hand against the slick gunwales of the boat, preparing to stand, but he slipped and almost fell into the water, his hand plunging into the oil-covered ocean up to his elbow. He felt a crewman grab his shirt to haul him up. But he waved with his free hand to be let go. He left his arm hanging in the heaving ocean. The ocean was warm! No, by God, it was as hot as a bloody bath!
He stood up and stared at the ocean in disbelief. The Gulf Stream wasn’t anywhere near here, and even if it were, the warm tropical water it carried was nowhere near this hot. The heat became a highly significant piece of data.
He queried the seamen in Spanish and they answered that they had smelled the heated water and the oil for an hour before they sighted the debris and the bodies. He peered at the helicopter, which was making a low video-recording run over the ocean. The video file would be transmitted via satellite to the company headquarters that night. He took out the radio and clicked it on, pulling the bandanna down from his mouth.
“Cooper here. Gordon, you copy?” There was a click, and Haggerty’s voice came back clearly in the affirmative.
“What’s the situation with your data-gathering?” asked Cooper.
“The HMS Greeley will arrive in a couple of hours to take over the investigation. Our team is on board, and we’ll have a survey report on the slick within three hours.”
“Fine. Now, Gordon, we’ve got something here that I’ve never seen before. Some bodies were burned, but one that should be alive in a raft looks to have been scalded, boiled.”
“My God, really?”
“Yes. And the water is incredibly warm here. I’m going to stay and take temperature measurements and chemical samples. I’ll want infrared satellite data from the National Weather Service. I know they monitor ocean temperatures. We’ll want to know the extent of this anomaly. And get me seismic records.” Cooper stared down at the body, which was awash in a shallow pool of seawater in the bottom of the raft. He thought a moment. “Oh, and tell him that I know the Navy still runs its SOSUS hydrophone system in this area. Even if they deny it, tell them I damned well want the records from the last twenty-four hours. Your Los Angeles organization can put pressure on, if necessary.” He added, “Gordon, I want to see that wreck when Philippe does.”
“Aye, of course. I’ve called Bradley in the exploration division. I’ve told him to cut loose that new ship of his from the North Sea … the Acorn. I want an ROV down on the wreck within a week.”
“And I’ll want a manned unit. Get me Deep Flight. And I want you to locate and fetch another guy I know. An astrophysicist.”
“What the hell do I need an astrophysicist for?”
“Gordon, this is really screwy. A lot of things don’t fit. I want somebody who has no preconceived notions … who understands a lot of physics. Y’know, like when they got
Cooper fought to avoid being overcome by the oil fumes as the lifeboat approached the rubber raft, in which lay a lifejacketed body, slumped on the bottom. A crewman grabbed the handhold on the raft and secured it to the stern. Keeping an eye on the nearest shark fin, Cooper made his way down the pitching boat to the stern and leaned down, hauling on the line until the raft was fast against the side of the boat. He leaned over and grabbed the body by the shoulder of the life vest, rolling it on its back. The face was the dead white color of a fish belly and bloated. There was no charring. He picked up the hand. It, too, was white and grossly swollen, with some fingernails torn off. The man had not burned to death. He appeared to have boiled to death! Cooper braced his hand against the slick gunwales of the boat, preparing to stand, but he slipped and almost fell into the water, his hand plunging into the oil-covered ocean up to his elbow. He felt a crewman grab his shirt to haul him up. But he waved with his free hand to be let go. He left his arm hanging in the heaving ocean. The ocean was warm! No, by God, it was as hot as a bloody bath!
He stood up and stared at the ocean in disbelief. The Gulf Stream wasn’t anywhere near here, and even if it were, the warm tropical water it carried was nowhere near this hot. The heat became a highly significant piece of data.
He queried the seamen in Spanish and they answered that they had smelled the heated water and the oil for an hour before they sighted the debris and the bodies. He peered at the helicopter, which was making a low video-recording run over the ocean. The video file would be transmitted via satellite to the company headquarters that night. He took out the radio and clicked it on, pulling the bandanna down from his mouth.
“Cooper here. Gordon, you copy?” There was a click, and Haggerty’s voice came back clearly in the affirmative.
“What’s the situation with your data-gathering?” asked Cooper.
“The HMS Greeley will arrive in a couple of hours to take over the investigation. Our team is on board, and we’ll have a survey report on the slick within three hours.”
“Fine. Now, Gordon, we’ve got something here that I’ve never seen before. Some bodies were burned, but one that should be alive in a raft looks to have been scalded, boiled.”
“My God, really?”
“Yes. And the water is incredibly warm here. I’m going to stay and take temperature measurements and chemical samples. I’ll want infrared satellite data from the National Weather Service. I know they monitor ocean temperatures. We’ll want to know the extent of this anomaly. And get me seismic records.” Cooper stared down at the body, which was awash in a shallow pool of seawater in the bottom of the raft. He thought a moment. “Oh, and tell him that I know the Navy still runs its SOSUS hydrophone system in this area. Even if they deny it, tell them I damned well want the records from the last twenty-four hours. Your Los Angeles organization can put pressure on, if necessary.” He added, “Gordon, I want to see that wreck when Philippe does.”
“Aye, of course. I’ve called Bradley in the exploration division. I’ve told him to cut loose that new ship of his from the North Sea … the Acorn. I want an ROV down on the wreck within a week.”
“And I’ll want a manned unit. Get me Deep Flight. And I want you to locate and fetch another guy I know. An astrophysicist.”
“What the hell do I need an astrophysicist for?”
“Gordon, this is really screwy. A lot of things don’t fit. I want somebody who has no preconceived notions … who understands a lot of physics. Y’know, like when they got
Similar Books
