Bobbing to the surface, he held up the large bubble compass strapped to his wrist. He aligned the lubber line with the white boat in the distance, then signaled to the other man, who lifted a large rolltop drybag from the bottom of the Zodiac and handed it over the side. Scholz sank out of sight. After a few seconds, a trail of bubbles on the surface marked his progress straight towards his target.

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At around 3:00 in the morning, Upali Karuna awoke with a start. He lay on the hard mattress in his room at the Deep Blue Resort, his senses alert. Had Suresh said something? He listened. All he heard was the rhythmic breathing of his roommate in the next bed over and the ticking of the ceiling fan above him in the dark. Must have been a car backfiring, or maybe a mosquito in his ear. Might as well have a piss. He quietly got up and padded across the concrete floor to the bathroom. Without turning on the light, he found his way over to the toilet, raised the seat and let go, enjoying the sweet relief. They’d celebrated their finding with a little too much beer in the Deep Blue’s dining area.

Through the open window of the bathroom he heard a motor in the distance, as if carrying across water. An outboard? The Taprobane was anchored offshore and though theft from boats wasn’t common here, he was glad they brought the ROV and sonar equipment ashore every night.

His mind turned to the Depth Charge and the meeting he’d be having in a few hours up in Trincomalee with the navy lieutenant. He’d been vague on the phone when he scheduled the meeting. He wanted to make one more visit to the Vampire with the ROV before he presented his evidence, just to be certain.

The sound of the motor stopped, replaced by the buzzing and clicking of a million nocturnal insects outside. He flushed the toilet and crept back to his bed. He was asleep within two minutes.

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By watching the luminous minute hand of his diving watch, Scholz knew how far he’d swum. He slowed and looked up, 15 feet to the surface. Despite the lack of moonlight, he could see the waves and the large silhouette of a boat. Slowly rising, he broke the surface near the stern. The waves slapped lazily against the hull and the automatic bilge pump piddled out a stream of water and then shut off.