She shook her head. “I don’t want to risk damaging it while lifting the boat.”

Pitt shrugged. “Suits me, but we’ve got to empty our hands first.”

He rotated the submersible’s manipulator arms, showing Ann the sling they contained. He maneuvered away from the boat, dropped the sling in the sand, and stretched it around the vessel’s bow. He grabbed one end and pulled it under the hull as far as it would go, then raised the looped end and deposited it on the cabin roof. He then repeated the process with the sling’s opposite end. Piloting the submersible above the rear deck, he set about extricating the hardened plastic box. With some effort, he loosened the straps with one of the manipulator claws until the box fell free. Clutching a handle with one claw, he worked the second arm beneath the box as a cradle. Giordino purged seawater from the ballast tanks, and the submersible floated to the surface.

Gunn was waiting for them at the Drake’s rail and pulled the submersible aboard. “How goes the initial lasso?” he asked as they climbed out.

Giordino smiled. “As easy as roping a baby calf.”

“The stern will be a bit harder,” Pitt said. “We’ll have to dig some to get the sling under her.”

Gunn noticed the long box held by the manipulator arms. “So, you brought me a present?”

“That would be Miss Bennett’s.” Giordino raised his brows to warn Gunn to keep his hands off.

As Giordino removed the box from the steel arms and set it on a protected section of the deck, Ann followed his every move. Gunn helped Pitt secure the second sling, then mounted a thick section of PVC pipe with an attached hose to the forward ballast relief valve.

“How’re your battery reserves holding up?” Gunn asked.

“If we can get this second sling on without too much trouble, we should have enough juice for one more dive to attach the lift cable.”

“I’ll tell the barge operator to stand by.”

Pitt and Giordino were lowered into the ocean, this time without Ann. Once they reached the seafloor, Pitt proceeded to the boat’s stern and set the submersible down adjacent to the port quarter. Using the manipulator arms, he set down the sling and grabbed the PVC pipe, which he inserted into the sand along the boat’s seam.

“Ready for suction.”