Inside the bell, Murray reached for the big handle marked Diver 2 and pulled it perpendicular to the direction of flow. Off. Then he grabbed a hacksaw that was hanging on the wall only for the most extreme emergencies. With a few quick strokes the umbilical fell away out of the bell just as a horrified Aitkens pulled himself up the ladder.

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In the pilothouse, a voice came over the radio on the public Channel 16. “DSV Depth Charge, this is R/V Taprobane, do you read?” Captain Kovács reached for the mouthpiece but Rausing grabbed it first.

“This is Depth Charge,” he said in a mild, almost friendly voice. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” came the reply. “Looks like you’re running without lights over there. A bit dangerous.” It was a Sri Lankan’s voice, with good English.

“Thanks for letting us know,” Rausing replied, while gesturing to Kovács to switch on the running lights. “An oversight on our part, sorry.”

The voice came back. “What are you guys doing so far offshore? I thought you were working on the harbor project?”

“We just came out for some fresh air last night,” Rausing said, “the air in the harbor is so stuffy, we thought we’d anchor out here for a change.”

“OK…” the voice sounded confused. “Well, we’re out here for some sonar sweeps and you guys are in our search area. How much longer are you planning to take in the fresh air?”

“We’ll be gone in a few minutes,” Rausing replied, “just doing some final tweaks to our hoist in open water.”

“Got it,” came the Taprobane, “we’ll stay out of your way til you leave. Have a good day.”

“And to you, Captain….?”

“Karuna, Upali Karuna. I’m no boat captain. I’m with the Ministry of Culture, History, and Archaeology.”

“Looking for anything interesting out here? Some sunken treasure perhaps?” Rausing gave a brittle laugh. “Or I suppose you aren’t allowed to say.”

“We’re trying to locate a World War II ship that went down around here. No treasure, I’m afraid.” Karuna chuckled.

“Well, good luck to you and your crew. We’ll be out of your way shortly.” Rausing clicked off and frowned. Job incomplete and now, interference. He turned to the captain, his eyes noticeably darker with suppressed anger. “As soon as the bell is up, we move,” he instructed and walked out of the pilothouse.

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