She saw Jack’s jaws working, and remembered it was something he did when making a decision. She bet he was weighing up what to tell them, and what to hold back.

“What we found was a lot more questions.” He looked up slowly. “In 1918, on the eastern coast of Australia, fishermen refused to go to sea when a monster shark turned up and started taking the lobster pots. These guys were used to big sharks, but this one frightened them so much that they refused to put to sea – and remember, in those days, no fishing meant no food and no income. Eyewitnesses claimed the shark was over fifty feet long, with a dorsal fin, taller than a grown man.”

“Je-zuz Christ.” Greg tilted himself back in his chair.

Jack’s mouth lifted into a lop-sided grin. “In March 1954, the Cutter called the Rachel Cohen supposedly ran aground in the middle of the Pacific. When they hauled it up into dry-dock, they found there was an enormous bite mark around the propeller beams that was way too large for any modern shark to make. The tooth marks were about five inches wide…” Jack held his hands apart. “…the largest Great White has teeth only measuring two and a half inches.”

He sighed. “More recently, in 1975, during a deep-sea dredging exploration, the HMS Challenger brought up two teeth from deep water – turned out they were Megalodon teeth – no surprise, as the shark was a global predator, and hunted in deep water. But what did shock the scientists was that these teeth seemed to only date to fifteen thousand years ago.” He shook his head, his eyes locked on Mironov’s. “Those teeth should not have been so, young.” He sat back. “The list goes on.”

“That’s enough, Jack, and thanks… for unnecessarily worrying the crap out of everyone, I mean.” Cate got to her feet. “Look, I know everyone’s scared. Hell, I’m scared. That Placoderm frightened the shit out of me. But I was nervous and excited before we came, and I think that’s how we all should be down here. We’re explorers, pioneers – in fact, probably the first modern humans to be in these waters. Not only will we go down in history, but think of the things we’ll see? Think of what we’ve already seen.”

She looked to Mironov. “Now would be a good time for your input, Valery.”

Mironov’s eyes were still on Jack. “One thing Jack’s story tells us, is that there are just as many wonders to be found in our deep oceans, as there are in here.” He smiled. “And in many ways, we are safer in here, than out there.”

“How do you come to that conclusion?” Abby asked, her brows drawn together.