The wave scientist was a rumpled, big-boned man who had the physique of a lumberjack and a mop of shaggy, silver hair that looked like Spanish moss growing on an old oak. His upper lip was adorned by a crooked mustache that looked as if it had been pasted on his face as an afterthought. He had a rumbling voice and a grumpy way of talking, as if he had just got up from a nap, but the alert, gray eyes that squinted at them through wire-rimmed glasses sparkled with good humor. He thanked them for coming, and pulled over a couple of chairs.

“You don't know how glad I am to see you gentlemen. I wasn't sure Rudi Gunn would go along with my request to have you on the expedition, Kurt. Getting Joe here is an unexpected bonus. I was probably being a bit persistent. Blame my Quaker background. Friendly persuasion and all that. We don't push; we sort of lean on people until they notice us.”

The professor would never have to worry about going unnoticed, Austin thought. “No apologies needed,” he said. “I'm always up for a sea cruise. I was surprised that you specifically wanted me on board. We've never met.”

“But I've heard a lot about you. And I know that NUMA likes to tout its accomplishments without specifically attributing them to the work of your Special Assignments Team.”

The team had been the brainchild of Admiral Sandecker, who ran NUMA before Dirk Pitt took over as director. He wanted a group of experts for undersea assignments that sometimes took place outside the realm of government oversight. At the same time, he used the team's more spectacular missions to leverage funds out of Congress."

“You're right. We prefer to minimize our role.”

Adler responded with a big-toothed grin. “It's very hard to minimize the discovery of the body of Columbus in an underwater Mayan pyramid. Or to belittle the prevention of a methane hydrate tsunami off the East Coast.”

“Dumb luck,” Austin said. “We were only doing some troubleshooting.”

Zavala rolled his eyes. “Kurt says that the only problem being a troubleshooter is that trouble sometimes shoots back.”

“I'll concede that the Special Assignments Team has taken on some odd missions, but NUMA has dozens of technicians far more capable than I am at search and survey. Why did you ask for me?”

Adler's face grew solemn. “Something very strange is going on in the ocean.”

“Nothing new there,” Austin said. “The sea is more alien than outer space. We know more about the stars than the planet under our feet.”

“I'd be the first to agree with you,” Adler said. “It's just that, well, I've got some crazy ideas banging around the inside of my skull.”

“Joe and I learned a long time ago that there's a thin line between crazy and rational. We'd like to hear what you have to say.”