The door opened moments later with Captain Emerson standing on the other side. Dressed in a pressed white, short-sleeve shirt, his trim frame filled the opening. He examined them with his piercing gray eyes. After a brief moment, he pushed the door open further and stepped back.
“Commander Lawton. Dr. Shaw. Please come in.”
They both entered without a word and walked into a surprisingly roomy cabin, complete with a small dining room table and leather couch. On the opposite wall stood a chest-high shelf, filled neatly with books and secured behind four small, decorative glass doors.
“Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the couch.
The two women complied as they watched Emerson pull out a chair and sit facing them, wearing a dour expression. “We should be arriving in a little less than an hour. So I thought we should have a talk.”
Both women nodded in silence.
“This isn’t the first time Langford has commandeered my ship like this. In fact, he seems to be making a habit out of it lately. This is, however, the first time he’s done so without giving me much information as to why. What he did tell me is that you two ladies are looking for something pretty damn important. And my job, and that of my crew, is to do whatever we can to help you find it.” He leaned back slightly and crossed his arms. “Is there some light you two care to shed on this?”
Neely and Alison looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Emerson continued, shifting his gaze over to Neely. “I’m sure you would agree that being ordered to relinquish part of my ship to a junior officer, and a civilian, begs for a bit more explanation.”
Neely cleared her throat, nervously. “Uh, well, the truth is Captain, we’re under orders as well.”
“From Langford?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m not surprised.” He relaxed slightly and reached up to rub an eyebrow. “Okay. Then let me go first. Some of what I’m about to tell you, you may already know, but some you may not. Our destination, from the coordinates that I believe Ms. Shaw provided, seems to be pretty damn important. And not just to us. Therefore, I’ve been ordered not to loiter.”
Alison looked at the captain with a confused look. “What does that mean?”
“It means we are not to be here when the sun comes up.”
“What? Why?!”
“Because there are dozens of satellites poised to snap pictures of this area, and someone may be watching. And if whatever you’re looking for is as important as it sounds, Langford is not willing to broadcast precisely where we’re looking.”
“H-how long do we have then?”
Emerson glanced at his watch. “A little less than ten hours.”
“Ten hours?!” She glanced nervously at Neely. “Then what?”
“Then we leave. And head for Guyana where we will anchor and appear to be examining the wreckage of the Bowditch.”
Emerson watched the expression change on Neely Lawton’s face.
“Guyana?”
“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry, Commander. It’s the only place the Pathfinder will seem expected. If we need more time back here, we’ll have to figure out how to do it without being noticed.”
“And how will we do that?”
“Likely with something less noticeable, perhaps a fishing boat.”
“We’re going to steal a fishing boat?”
A smile emerged from Emerson’s mouth. “No, Ms. Shaw. We’ll charter one. I’m aware of your opinion of the Navy, but we’re not that bad.”
Emerson turned back to Neely. “I know this won’t be easy for you, Commander. Your father managed to bring us to a draw on the first fight, but it seems the battle isn’t over. So if you two are going to find what it is you’re after, I suggest you do it before sun up.”
Neely blinked at him, surprised. “With all due respect, sir, ten hours isn’t nearly enough time.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to make the most of it. Which leads me to my next question. How can my ship, and my crew, assist you?”
Alison wasted no time. “Let me talk to Sally and Dirk. We need time to test with them. Otherwise, our translation system may not operate correctly in the open water.”
Emerson thought it over. “You’ll have to wear a harness. These swells won’t get any better until we can power down. And even then only moderately.”
“Fine, I’ll wear a harness.” Alison was growing desperate. They’d planned to use the entire trip to work out the bugs in the new software code, but outside conditions on the deck had made it impossible. Instead, Lee was left trying to make some progress through loopback testing, but there was only so much he could do through simulation.