Valhalla Rising (Dirk Pitt 16)

"Made out of dung and concrete, that one," observed O'Malley.

Pitt took an instant liking to the man, as did Giordino. "I hope you take us more seriously than Captain Baldwin."

O'Malley grinned with every tooth. "If you're right, and I'm not saying you ain't, I'm not about to die on this extravagant folly to man's greed."

"I take it you're not fond of her," said Pitt, amused.

"She's overbuilt," snorted O'Malley. "More expense and planning went into the palatial decor than into the true guts of the engineering systems. Successful sea trials or not, I wouldn't be surprised if she goes down and doesn't come up."

"Somehow I hate to hear those words from an expert on ship construction," muttered Giordino.

Pitt folded his arms across his chest. "My primary concern is that the disaster will be caused by human hands."

O'Malley looked at him. "Do you know how many places a madman could set an explosive that would cause this tub to sink?"

"If the boat is deep underwater, a rupture almost anyplace on the hull would do the trick

."

"That and a puncture in the ballast tanks."

"I haven't had time to study the plans and specifications of the boat, except very briefly last night," said Pitt. "But there must be an underwater system for evacuation."

"There is," answered O'Malley, "and a good one. Instead of lifeboats, the passengers enter their assigned pods; they can hold fifty people. Then the entry door is closed and sealed. At the same time, the outer doors open, a stream of air is sent into the ejection system and the pods shoot free of the ship and float to the surface. Take my word for it, the system is efficient. I know, I consulted on the project."

"If you wanted to make the evacuation system inoperable, how would you go about it?"

"Not a pretty thought."

"We've got to cover all the bases."

O'Malley scratched his head. "Causing a failure in the air-ejection system would be the way I'd go."

"I'd be grateful if you and your team would check out any tampering with the system very carefully," said Pitt.

O'Malley looked at him with his eyes half closed. "I wouldn't do a sloppy job of inspection if my life depended on it."

Giordino studied the fingernails on one hand objectively. "Truer words, I hope, were never spoken."

The mooring hawsers were lifted off the bollards by the dock crew and reeled aboard the Golden Marlin seconds before the starboard thrusters were activated and the boat begin slipping sideways from the dock. Over a thousand people had come to the dock to watch the maiden voyage of the first underwater cruise boat. On a reviewing stand, the governor of Florida and other officials and celebrities made mundane speeches. The University of Florida band played a medley of sea tunes and were followed by a Caribbean marimba-and-steel-drum band. As the ship began to edge from the dock, both bands and the boat's orchestra combined to play the traditional sailing song, "Until We Meet Again." Streamers and confetti were thrown as the passengers and people onshore waved and shouted. The scene was very moving. Pitt was amazed at how many women wiped away tears. Even Kelly was swept up by the rousing ban voyage.

Pitt saw no sign of the divers. His calls to Captain Baldwin on the bridge were not answered or returned. He felt extremely restive, but there was no way he could stop the ship from sailing.

The boat was still in the channel, heading toward the open blue-green sea off Florida, when all passengers were asked to be seated in the theater, where First Officer Paul Conrad lectured on the operation of the submarine cruise boat and explained the evacuation system. Kelly sat on one side of the theater in the front while Pitt sat on the other side near the rear. There were six black families on board, but none of the men remotely resembled Omo Kanai. As soon as the lecture was over, a series of gongs rang and the passengers were directed to their evacuation pod stations. Giordino worked with the team of inspectors, searching for explosives or signs of damaged equipment, while Pitt and Kelly cooperated with the purser in matching up the passengers with their names and staterooms. The search went slowly. By lunchtime, they were less than halfway through the passenger list without getting to the crewmembers.

"I'm beginning to doubt he's on board," said Kelly wearily.

''Either that or he's stowed away," Pitt said, as he studied the pictures of the passengers that had been taken by the ship's photographer when they'd come on board. He held up a photo to the light and studied the features of the image. Then he passed it to Kelly. "Look familiar?"

She looked at the photo for several seconds, read the name and then she smiled. "There's a definite resemblance. The only problem is that this Mr. Jonathan Ford is white."

Pitt shrugged. "I know. Well, back to the drawing board."

At four o'clock in the afternoon, chimes sounded over the speakers throughout the boat playing the song "By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea." It was the signal that the boat was about to submerge. The passengers all hurried to find chairs in front of the viewing ports. There was no noticeable vibration or decrease in speed as the boat slowly began to slip beneath the surface. The sea seemed to rise as the boat descended in a maelstrom of bubbles that quickly faded away as the bright sun and sky transformed into a deep blue liquid void.

The magnetohydrodynamic engines ran silently, without tremor. Except for the water passing outside the view ports, the passengers had no sensation of movement. The air regenerators scrubbed out the carbon dioxide and refreshed the breathable air inside the boat.

Though there was little to see at first, they remained absorbed in viewing a different world below the one to which they were accustomed. Soon, fish began to appear, taking little interest in the huge vessel as it trespassed into their kingdom. Brilliantly colored tropical fish in fluorescent purples, yellows and reds swam past the view ports. The saltwater inhabitants were far more dazzling than their cousins in freshwater lakes and river. They soon faded above the sub as it sank into deeper water.