‘This is back-up for the diving bell?’ He nodded. She went on. ‘The boat’s extraordinarily well equipped, is it yours?’

Harry made a ‘tsk’ and raised his chin, the Greek expression for ‘No’. ‘It belongs to Oxford University. A couple of their graduates are on the team. Familiarise yourself with everything aboard, Elias gets impatient when things aren’t going his way.’

Shelly nodded. ‘Will do.’ Her body was almost levitating with happiness. ‘I’ll be meticulous. Certified safety officer, remember.’

He nodded, eyes dark, narrowed, hot.

‘You’re so bad, Harry. Don’t look at me like that. I need to concentrate.’

‘Me too.’ He grinned, leaned in and kissed her neck. ‘But you make it hard.’

‘Get a room, you two,’ Elias muttered, scowling at them as he approached the console. ‘We need to be single-minded today. Can’t afford mistakes, right?’

*

Harry was busy with one of the technicians, so Shelly started working through her safety checklist.

‘What are you doing?’ Elias demanded. ‘Please, I’ve asked you not to touch the equipment!’

She blinked at him, shocked by his aggression. ‘I’m just checking battery life on the sea-scooters.’

‘They were checked yesterday.’

‘Well, I'm sorry to tell you, this one’s almost empty.’

‘What?’ Elias stormed over.

Harry was alerted by his son’s raised voice. ‘Must be faulty. Well done, Shelly.’

She held her breath and counted five. ‘Can’t have too much checking when people’s lives are at stake. Also, one of the rebreather batteries has a fully-charged tag, but appears to be almost flat this morning.’

‘This is serious.’ Harry glanced at Elias this time. ‘Could you go over everything?’

‘Of course! Don’t I always, Papa?’

Shelly put in, ‘There’s possibly a simple explanation. Shall I check the cylinders?’

‘Yes, let’s double check everything,’ Harry answered.

Shelly considered a change of subject. ‘Can I ask, what’s the dive for?’

‘Ah, it’s quite straightforward. Eco-science research, concerning pollution; and due to the latest equipment, they’re allowed to go inside and investigate the cause of the sinking for the first time.’

‘After so long! That’s exciting. Look, I know there’s a meeting with the team this evening, but I’d like an idea of the dive procedure in advance, if possible, Harry. They’ve been here for a week already, going through the process. I want to make sure I’m up to the plate, so to speak.’

Harry turned to his son. ‘Elias, go through tomorrow with Shelly, will you?’

‘Me? I’ve got enough to do. Where’s Petros, still in bed?’

‘Really,’ Shelly said in a calming voice. ‘If it’s inconvenient, there’s no need. I’ll be at the meeting tonight anyway, and I did read the entire Standard Operating Procedure online, all seventy pages of it. Sorry I asked, it was thoughtless of me considering the pressure you’re under.’