Juan nodded. “I suspect they’ll start searching today, so as soon as they pass by in the workboat, we’ll do our thing. When Tamara wakes up, ask if she’d like to join us. The least we can do is show her the fabled Treasure Ship before we destroy it.”

That was the first Hanley had heard about that, and he stared at the Chairman for a moment before seeing the logic. “It’ll be a shame, but you’re right. It can’t be helped.”

“I know. We can’t afford to give the Chinese even the slimmest chance of staking a claim down here.”

An hour later, Juan released the clamps holding the thirty-two-foot Discovery 1000. The three-person submersible didn’t have an escape trunk like her big sister, but no one had any real desire to swim in water that was just a fraction of a degree above freezing.

Cabrillo sat in the reclined pilot’s seat with Tamara on his right. Linda Ross had drawn the lucky number to accompany them, although with the temperature chilly enough for them to see their breaths in the cockpit she wasn’t sure how lucky she felt.

“Can’t we crank the heat a tad?” she asked, blowing on frozen fingertips.

“Sorry, but the bay we identified off the satellite pictures is at our maximum range. We need the endurance more than the comfort.”

“Won’t the Chinese already be there?” Tamara asked. She was bundled in an arctic parka, with another draped over her long legs.

“Nope. They went the wrong way. There are two similarly shaped bays around here. One to the north and one south. Because of the body Linda and her team found at Wilson/George, we know the wreck has to be in that direction. Those guys are going to spend the next week or so surveying fifty miles from where they should.”

For the next three hours, they cruised at twenty feet. Because of the weak polar sun, it was nearly black even this shallow. Juan relied on the sub’s sonar and lidar systems to navigate. At least the seas were calm. Had the weather been foul, running so close to the surface would have been like taking a ride inside a clothes dryer.

Linda and Juan kept Tamara entertained with some of the crazier stunts the Corporation had pulled off, making certain each story painted Max in the best light. If she suspected they were putting on the hard sell for their friend, she didn’t let on. They drank sweetened tea and ate gourmet sandwiches prepared in the Oregon’s world-class galley.

“The nav computer says we’re coming up on the bay,” Cabrillo informed his passengers. “The depth here is five thousand feet, but the bottom will come up sharply.”