“Oh no,ff Vlasov replied, digging into the case. ”Three bottles. The finest vodka made in Russia.“ He carefully unwrapped the other containers and planted a noisy kiss on each one before laying it back in the case. ”Jewel of Russia is one of our finest and Moskovska is su- perb. Charodei is the best chilled."

Austin wondered if he would ever understand the Russian mind- set. “Of course,” he said cheerfully. “Sinking a submarine to keep your booze cool makes perfect sense when you explain it that way.”

“The submarine was an old Foxtrot-class boat used for training,” Vlasov said. “It hadn't seen service for more than thirty years.” He gave Austin a 14-karat-gold smile. “You must admit it was your idea to place objects on the sub to test your ability to retrieve them.”

“Mea culpa. It didn't seem like a bad idea at the time.”

Vlasov closed the cover of the case. “Your dive was a success, then?”

“By and large,” Zavala said. “We've got a few technical problems. Nothing major.”

“Then we must celebrate with a drink,” Vlasov said.

Austin reached over and took the case from the Russian's hand. “No time like the present.”

They picked up three plastic cups from the mess hall, then headed for the ready room. Vlasov opened the bottle of Charodei and poured a healthy portion into each cup. He raised his drink in toast. "Here's to the brave young men who died on the Kursk.

Vlasov slugged down the vodka as if he were drinking herbal tea.

Austin sipped his drink. He knew from past experience that demons lurked in the potent Russian firewater.

“And here's to something like the Kursk never happening again,” Austin said.

The Kursk sinking had been one of the worst submarine disasters on record. More than a hundred crewmen had died in 2000 when the Oscar II-class cruise missile sub had sunk in the Barents Sea after an explosion in the torpedo compartment.

Vlasov said, “With your submersible, no young man serving his country in any nation need die such a horrible death. Thanks to the ingenuity of NUMA, we have a way to get into a sunken vessel whether the escape hatch is operable or accessible, or not. The inno- vations you came up with for this vehicle are revolutionary.”

“That's kind of you to say, Commander Vlasov. Joe deserves the credit for hammering some odds and ends together and applying good old American common sense.”

“Thanks for the praise, but I stole the idea from Mother Nature,” Zavala said with typical modesty. A graduate in marine engineering from the New York Maritime College, Zavala possessed a brilliant mechanical mind. He'd been recruited by NUMA Director James Sandecker right out of college, and in addition to his duties on the Special Assignments Team led by Austin, he had designed numer- ous manned and unmanned underwater vehicles.

“Nonsense!” Vlasov said. “It's a long way from the lamprey eel to your submersible.”