“The divers are making progress, but it’s going to take years to clear the total complex. Just this main building will be weeks of work.”
“No crocodiles or sharks?”
Leonid ignored him. “Perhaps it’s worth getting a larger, better-equipped ship here now that we know there’s a genuine find?”
“I can look into it. But what’s wrong with the Darwin?”
“Nothing. Only, the more hands we have working, the faster this will go. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in this place.”
“Noted. I’ll see what we can do, although we’re in about the most remote point in the world. It could take weeks to get a big mother ship there.” Sam grinned. “You should savor the time, Leonid. You’re going to be a national hero for making this discovery. They’ll probably rename the bay in your honor and declare a holiday. So plan on being here for a while.”
“I really do get seasick.”
“Come on, Leonid. You’re Russian. From a long line of seafaring warriors.”
“My ancestors were farmers. They lived in the snow. The closest they got to water was when the ice melted.”
Sam fin
ished the call and plugged the phone into the charger before going to where Remi was sitting up on the bed, accessing the Internet with her tablet. She glanced up at him and then continued what she was doing.
“So? How is he?”
“Claims to hate the boat and needs a bigger one.”
“In his usual good mood?”
“More cheerful than usual.”
Remi smiled. “It might not be such a terrible idea to look into a large vessel.”
“I know. Since you’re on the web, could you send Selma an e-mail so she can get the ball rolling?”
Remi tapped out a quick missive and then stretched. “Hungry yet?”
“I could force down some fish.”
“Hotel restaurant?”
“I was thinking about that place we ate at the first night.”
“Do you think it’s safe?”
“I see no reason why not. It’s only a few blocks from here. Why not live a little dangerously . . . ?”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “So help me, if you say what’s the worst that can happen, I’ll scream.”
“It never entered my mind.”
The streets were empty except for a pair of stray dogs, loping in the shadows. Sam pulled into the restaurant parking lot and looked around—there were only three cars.
Remi frowned. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“If I let that stop me, I’d never go anywhere.”
When they entered the dining room, the waiter looked at them like they’d descended from a spacecraft, but he quickly recovered and approached.
“Sit wherever you like,” he said with a thick island accent.