Ark Found

Chapter 10

Daedalus paced back and forth in the bridge of the Transoceanic. “Yes, pick up our man on the way to taking down the other tender. We don’t need to leave him to be rescued by Deep Pioneer and draw more attention to ourselves. But those two treasure hunters must not be allowed to escape.”

“Why not?” one of the bridge crew who sailed the ship asked. “We have the map. Why not just let them go rather than risk an international incident?”

Daedalus shook his head while continuing to pace. “Believe me, while what you say seems reasonable on the surface of it, I know from past experience that these two are quite capable of becoming serious thorns in our side. The implications of the discovery the map leads to are far too profound to assume that anyone privy to its existence will simply walk — or boat — away. They must be neutralized.”

The bridge officer nodded and stepped aside as he brought a radio to his mouth.

To the captain, Daedalus said, “I want the helicopter pilot on standby.”

The captain nodded and barked into an intercom. Then he turned to Daedalus. “He’ll be ready to lift off in five minutes. Really, we can call the boat off after it picks up the man overboard. The chopper will catch up to the boat and we can have a gunner on board to shoot it down.”

“As much as I would like to see that,” Daedalus said, “it will not come to pass.”

“Why not?” The captain appeared perplexed.

“Because the helicopter is to carry me and my new map to Newfoundland, so that I can begin the search for Noah’s Ark.”