Shelly felt him on her side, unlike his brother. She pulled out a chair and lifted a notebook and pen from her bag. The first papers were about the dedicated commercial dive support vessel; DSV for short. A solid hulk of ship that would show up well on any ship’s radar, which was important as they were diving in a busy shipping lane. She started memorising the vessel’s layout.

Once Shelly had the layout of the ship firmly ingrained in her mind, she found a sheet detailing the medical facilities on board. Then, she went through a ‘worst case scenario’ exercise in her head. Her local paramedic leader in Dover had given her the number of the Air Sea Rescue team nearest to the island of Kea, so she made contact and introduced herself and confirmed that they knew about the dive. Engrossed in making notes, she hadn’t realised some of the dive team had arrived and felt herself blush when she looked up to see half a dozen men watching her.

Harry came out of the dive shop and introduced the team as they arrived, twenty-four men and five women besides herself covered every aspect of the dive, including technicians, boat crews, and dive management teams. They all settled down to the excitement of the pre-dive meet. For most of the team, using the bell for decompression was a new experience and, like Shelly, they had all studied the Standard Operating Procedure intensely. Several emergency scenarios were considered including oxygen toxicity, air embolism, and loss of consciousness. Everyone knew these were real dangers, and all those who would be in the water went through an unconscious diver drill. When Harry asked if there were any questions, Shelly raised her hand.

‘I know it seems overly cautious, but as I’m assistant medical officer, can I have everyone’s blood group, age, and any medical conditions before you leave this table?’

Elias piped up. ‘Oh, come on! These are all very experienced divers, even those who are not going down. Don’t you think you’re being a bit over-dramatic?’

Shelly felt the heat of a blush rise in her cheeks and was determined not to look at Harry. ‘No, I don’t think you can be too careful. Don’t forget, two very experienced divers have already lost their lives in the last decade here. Also, we must take into consideration this will be the first time we’ve all worked together, and accidents do happen.’

He tutted, took a beer from the fridge, and banged the edge of the cap against the edge of the table to remove it. Their eyes met and she saw nothing but hostility.

*

‘That all went very well,’ Harry said when they were alone. ‘I must apologise for Elias, again. I’ll have a word with him later. The problem is, he’s very loyal and misses his mother, but won’t admit it.’