Flood Tide (Dirk Pitt 14)

"A phenomenon that takes place with every treasure find," Pitt concurred.

"And in the hope and anticipation that you'll make a successful discovery, I've also ordered the Ocean Retriever off a project on the Maine coast and directed her to Lake Michigan."

"The perfect choice. She's ideally equipped for intricate salvage work."

"She should arrive on site and be in position over the wreck within four days."

"You planned and arranged all this before you knew if Gallagher could lead us to the wreck?" Pitt asked incredulously.

"Again, anticipation."

Pitt's admiration of Sandecker never ceased. "You're a tough man to keep up with, Admiral."

"I always hedge my bets."

"I can see that."

"Good luck, and let me know how it goes."

With Julia in tow, Pitt spent the day talking to local divers about water conditions and studying charts of the lake bed in the general location of the Princess Dou Wan. The following morning at the crack of dawn, they parked the car at Manitowoc's yacht basin and walked along the dock until they found the Divercity and her crew waiting for them.

The boat, a twenty-five-foot Parker with a cabin, was powered by a 250 Yamaha outboard. Functional and electronically well equipped with a NavStar differential global-positioning system interfaced with a 486 computer and Geometerics 866 marine magnetometer, the Divercity also mounted a Klein side-scan sonar that would play a key role in seeking out the remains of the Princess Dou Wan. For a close-up identification, the boat carried a Benthos MiniRover MK II underwater robotic vehicle.

The experienced crew consisted of Ralph Wilbanks, a big, jolly man in his early forties with expansive brown eyes and a bristling mustache; and his partner, Wes Hall, easygoing, soft-spoken and smoothly handsome, who could have doubled for Mel Gibson.

Wilbanks and Hall greeted Pitt and Julia warmly and introduced themselves. "We didn't expect you this early," said Hall.

"Up with the birds, that's us," Pitt said, nodding humorously. "How was your trip from Kenosha?"

"Calm water all the way," answered Wilbanks.

Both men spoke in a soft Southern accent. Pitt liked them almost immediately. He didn't need a drawing to see they were a professional, job-dedicated pair. They watched amused as Julia jumped from the dock, landing on the deck with the finesse of a limber cat. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater under a nylon windbreaker.

"She's a fine, no-nonsense boat," said Pitt, admiring the Divercity.

Wilbanks nodded in agreement. "She does the job." He turned to Julia. "I hope you don't mind roughing it, ma'am. We're not equipped with a head."

"Don't worry about me," Julia said, smiling. "I've got an iron bladder."

Pitt looked across the water of the little harbor at the seemingly endless lake. "Light breeze, one- to two-foot waves, conditions look good. Are we ready to cast off?"

Hall nodded and unwound the mooring lines from the dock's cleats. Just as he was about to climb on board, he pointed down the dock at a figure awkwardly approaching and waving wildly. "Is he with you?"

Pitt found himself staring at Al Giordino, who was stomping across the wooden planks on a pair of crutches, his wounded leg encased in a plaster cast from ankle to crotch. Giordino flashed his celebrated smile and said, "A pox on your house for thinking you could leave me onshore while you got all the glory."

Happy to see his old friend, Pitt said, "You can't say I didn't try."

Wilbanks and Hall gently lifted Giordino over the side and sat him on a long cushion that lay on a raised hump in the middle of the boat. Pitt introduced him to the crew as Julia fussed over him and pressed a cup of coffee in his hand from a thermos she carried in a picnic basket.

"Shouldn't you be in a hospital?" she asked.

"I hate hospitals," Giordino grumbled. "Too many people die in them."

"Is everyone aboard who's coming aboard?" Wilbanks inquired.

"All present and accounted for," replied Pitt.

Wilbanks grinned and said, "Then let's do it."