“What about actual conditions?” “Kurt, my father used to quote an old Spanish proverb. 'The closed mouth swallows no flies.' ”

“What the hell do flies have to do with our situation?”

“Nothing,” Zavala said. “I just thought we should change the sub- ject. Maybe the problem with the ballast control will go away.”

The vehicle had been built as a rescue system of last resort. Once its lasers punched a hole in a sunken vessel, water would rush in after the sub disengaged. There was no way to plug the opening. All trapped crewmen had to be evacuated in one trip. This was a proto- type, built to carry only eight people plus a pilot and co-pilot. If all thirteen men and their captain were taken off the cruiser, they'd be over the weight limit by six.

Austin said, “I've been running the figures in my head. Estimate a hundred-fifty pounds per man, and we've got more than a ton of weight. There's a safety margin built into the Lamprey, so it's prob- ably no big whoop, except for the lame ballast tank.”

“No problem. We've got a backup pump if the main isn't work- ing.” In designing the Sea Lamprey, Zavala had followed common

practice and built redundant systems. Zavala paused. “Some of the crew might be dead.”

“I've been thinking about that,” Austin said. “We'd increase our safety margin if we left bodies down there, but I'm not leaving until we've got every man aboard. Dead or alive.”

The cockpit grew silent as both men considered the awful possi- bilities. The only sound was the hum of electric motors as the un- gainly craft dropped into the depths. Before long, they were at the side of the cruiser. Austin directed Zavala to the penetration point. Then came a soft clunk as the front end of the submersible bumped the curved steel plates. Electric pump motors hummed, and the sub- mersible stayed where it was, glued to the steel by a vacuum.

The escape tunnel, made of a tough but pliable synthetic material, was extended. Eight vertical and horizontal thrusters kept the vehi- cle steady under the direction of computers that monitored its move- ment in relation to the current. The instruments indicated when the seal was complete. Normally, a thin probe would penetrate the hull to look for explosive fumes.

Sensors gauged the pressure within the seal and kept the vacuum on place. Given the safe signal to enter, Austin strapped on a small air tank and a scuba regulator and emerged from the air lock. There was some leakage around the seal, but not enough to worry about. He started to crawl through the escape tunnel.