Near the stern, Neely Lawton had already boarded. She was waiting, quietly staring out over the water. She didn’t appear anxious or excited. Instead, it was one of apprehension, knowing they were headed back to a place not far from where her father had just died. A place where he gave his own life to save them all.
That they were going back to the same area, and for the very same reason, was more than a little sobering.
A few hours later, Captain Emerson had an equally concerning thought. He didn’t know exactly what they were after, but given the close proximity to where the Bowditch was lost, it wasn’t exactly a stretch to suspect a relationship. And like the Coast Guard’s Base Commander, his orders too had come directly from Admiral Langford, which was unusual. It made Emerson wonder just how many others were aware of their new “mission.”
“They’re here, sir,” Harris said, sticking his head inside.
Emerson stepped back outside through the bridge door and joined his first officer at the railing. Harris handed him the binoculars and pointed out past the pier.
He spotted the Teknicraft aluminum-hulled catamaran heading directly toward them and recognized Chris Ramirez standing outside the pilothouse at one of the forward railings. He couldn’t make out anyone else except the two dolphins swimming next to them, occasionally jumping between the swells.
He returned inside and grabbed the handset, raising it to his ear. When his head engineer Tay answered on the other end, he asked the same question he’d asked less than a half hour earlier.
“How close?”
From the Pathfinder’s stern, Tay nodded confidently. “We’re ready, Captain. We’re done reinforcing the tank and it’s filling now. I’d say ten minutes.”
“Excellent. We’ll need to transfer them as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, sir.” Behind Tay, the heavy, fabric sling swayed slowly in the breeze. “We’re all ready for that too.”
“Well done. Let us know when everyone’s aboard.”
“I will, sir.”
Emerson hung up and placed the handset back in its cradle in front of his communications officer. He returned outside and peered back out over the water, this time handing the binoculars back to Harris.
“Any idea behind the urgency, sir?”
“Nope.”
Alison and Chris watched impatiently from the side of the metal tank while the tall orange winch moved Dirk smoothly across the open deck, lowering him into the tank beside Sally. After some difficulty unwrapping the sling, Tay’s team double-checked the integrity of the tank before giving a thumbs-up.
Behind them, Kelly squeezed Alison’s shoulders. “That’s my cue.” She winked at Chris. “You sure you have everything before I untie?”
Chris nodded, hiding his disappointment. “I think so.” He started to add something to keep the conversation with Kelly going but didn’t know what else to say, without it sounding corny. Instead, he tried to stand there and appear cool while she hugged Alison.
“Drop me a postcard.”
Alison laughed. “Sure. I’ll put it in a bottle.”
Kelly turned and headed for the gangplank. “I’ll be watching the store, so let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Kel. Will do.”
Alison’s eyes wasted no time. She turned to Tay, who was already on the phone confirming that they were ready.
The rest of the crew had begun pulling in the Pathfinder’s giant lines from the dock when Captain Emerson appeared above and promptly descended the ladder.
He raised his voice over the ship’s engines as they rumbled to life. “Dr. Shaw. It’s nice to see you again.”
Alison shook his extended hand. “Thank you, Captain. I guess this makes adventure number three.”
He smiled. “I suggest we don’t count the first two.”
Alison couldn’t agree more. The first time she and the team had to be evacuated from the Pathfinder by the Coast Guard. The second trip ended with the terrible fate of the Bowditch. As Steve Caesare once said, they weren’t exactly batting a thousand.
Emerson turned to Chris. “Mr. Ramirez.”
“Hello again, Captain.”
After looking at the dolphins, Emerson said, “Are we all set here? I understand we’re on a tight schedule.”
“Yes, I think we’re ready when you are.”
“Very good. I’m afraid we have some larger swells than usual, so for safety reasons I’ll need to ask you both to remain above on the main deck. You should still be able to keep an eye on your friends from there.”
Alison followed the captain’s gaze up one flight. “That’s fine. Can we remain outside?”