“This gives you an idea of the incredible depth. A continental shelf that's probably the remnant of the old shoreline runs around the perimeter. It's the widest off the Ukraine, then it plunges down for seven thousand feet. The thin layer near the top is rich with life. But below the five-hundred-fifty-foot mark, there is no oxygen and the sea is lifeless. It's the biggest body of dead water in the world. Even worse, the depths are loaded with hydrogen sulfide. One breath of the stuff can kill you. If that mass of poison ever rose to the surface, it would release a cloud that would kill every living thing in and around the sea.”

“The Turks weren't kidding about the sea of death,” Zavala said.

Paul projected a map that had a dotted line running around the inner edge of the sea. “Kreisman said the ship was found around the four-hundred-foot level. That would put it at the edge of the continental shelf. Any deeper and ship wouldn't be there. Wooden vessels are perfectly preserved in the depths, because there is no oxygen to sustain wood-boring worms, but the chemicals eat away at metal.”

“The ship would have been reduced to its basic molecules,” Austin said.

“That's right. That gorge he talked about is probably an extended riverbed. The continental shelf is smooth and gradually dips seaward, pretty much like the ensign's description. The decay from all those organisms has formed pockets of methane gas. Presumably, a diver could be insulated from that type of thing, but there might still be some danger in diving in a poisonous environment.”

Gunn had been absorbing the discussion. He rose from his seat and borrowed the laser pointer.

“Let's see what we've got. The NR-1 was hijacked here.” He ran the red dot from the Aegean through the Bosporus. “This is where they heard sounds of ship traffic.” He moved the pointer along the edge of the continental shelf. “Here's our mystery ship, according to the GPS.”

Using his cursor, Paul drew an X at the location Gunn indicated.

“Someone went to a great deal of trouble to salvage that ship,” Austin said. “Maybe it holds the key to unraveling this whole mess.”

Gunn turned to the captain. “How soon can we haul anchor and get moving?”

Atwood had kept silent throughout the ensign's presentation and the NUMA team's discussion. He smiled and said, “You people have been so engrossed in the Black Sea, you didn't notice me calling the bridge. We're on our way. Should be on-site in the morning.”