He let the air out of his buoyancy control device (BC) and sank below the surface. He dragged both the Farallons with him, as well as his other equipment. The underwater propulsion devices had a slight negative buoyancy. They were a blast to ride—he would get to straddle them like a torpedo—but a diver had to be careful when ascending to the surface. Rising too quickly was a great way to blow out the lungs with an air embolism.

The descent reminded Matt of his leap from the plane five months earlier. He could not turn on his own flashlight until he reached the bottom—another signal to the FBI that had to be avoided. The black was absolute, the chill like the frost of a distant moon. He felt as if he were falling into a forsaken abyss. A part of him truly was Falling—the role he had chosen to play.

Matt felt a comfort in the dark plunge. He was in his element when he was hidden. He shared that with Amy—she had hidden so much. The image of her face flashed before his unseeing eyes and he thought he saw her smile. Of course she would weep that very night when David failed to bring her son home to her.

Odd, but he could not stop thinking what it would be like to kiss her again.

After what seemed an eternity he touched bottom. He had been fortunate his ears had cleared all the way down; he had a slight cold. Immediately, he reached for the light tucked in the pocket of his BC. The beam came out through a haze of dust. The visibility was seven feet, but it should be at least three times that when he got near the light on the container. Still, to pass within twenty feet of the container, he would need as much luck as skill. It would be tragic to have come this far and fail.

Matt consulted his compass and powered up his Farallon, staying five feet off the floor of the ocean. He started slow but quickly felt the danger of caution. The FBI would airlift divers out soon. He upped the device’s power and felt the pressure of the water on his face mask. Once again the sensation was exquisite; it was like flying through a dream above a nightmarish range that could not harm him. However, he did not relax so much that he took his eye off the compass. The needle was his only link to the ransom.