David Golemon - Legend

"Yes, I believe you have indeed earned your spot in my new cabinet, Mr. Ambrose. I will contact our friend in the Brazilian government and get his guarantee of action."

"Not too hard to do with what you have hanging over his head already."

"Remember, Mr. Advisor, we're still talking about American men in that aircraft and the people on the ground. I just hope we haven't gone too far."

"By my estimation, Mr. Secretary, we've gone just far enough already. We have covered exactly thirteen steps up the gallow's staircase. And with your official statements to both sides confusing the issue of a rescue, I would think its safe to say that the few remaining steps to the hangman's rope are already in the bank. I see no other choice here."

"Give me the coordinates."

Jack had several operations going at once: Charles Ray Jackson was on the sonar in a constant watch for their underwater friend. Tom Stiles was atop the main mast finishing up the repairs to the satellite communications dish, and Mendenhall and Sanchez were working on Operation Spoiled Sport: In the darkness surrounding the lagoon, they were attaching small battery-operated heat cells to nylon line attached to semitransparent Mylar balloons, which would be raised with the help of the helium tank Sanchez had carried in a backpack as the men made their way nervously around the perimeter of the lagoon. The balloons would raise a package that emitted a high-temperature signature through the use of heating coils in the foot-long cylinder.

"I hope those monkeys don't try and mess with these. The major seemed pretty adamant about having them in place and operating on time," Mendenhall said as he nervously eyed the trees around them.

Sanchez pressed the release valve on the hose and the large balloon filled with helium. Then the heat transponder was attached, and he slowly allowed the nylon line to play out through his fingers. They were on their thirteenth one; each one had to be placed as close to the tree canopy as they could get it. By the time they were finished they would have fifty balloons raised to a height of two hundred feet above the highest of the trees. Once that was done, the team would use the Zodiac to travel to the shore and tie every balloon to the roots of trees. Thus the entire lagoon would be lined with the heat-emitting elements.

Inside the engineering section, Jenks was preparing Snoopy 3 for her journey into the mine. The probe was five and a half feet long and had a pop-up floodlight and camera on each of four points. But the problem with using that much power for the illumination and cameras was that Snoopy 3 had a battery lifespan of less than an hour.

He reached for the intercom. "Okay, you in there?"

"This is Everett in sonar. Anytime you want, Chief."

"Go ahead, Toad, blast the hell out of the water and get me some readings to feed into Snoopy — and give it full amplitude."

Outside in the water, a sound wave was created by the loud sonar ping. The signal bounced off the rock walls and bounced around until it found its way back to Teacher , where the size of and distance to all underwater obstructions were recorded. Again the ping sounded, and again. Fifteen times at ten-second intervals, the sound bounced around the lagoon and even into the mine itself.

Robby watched the animal from within an enclosure in the cave as it moved around the darkened central cavern. He could see the amphibian turn and stare at him. Robby knew the beast was aware of its being observed. It had seemed agitated when it had returned only minutes before to herd several more members of the expedition team into the cave: two students who were carrying a third between them. In the semidarkness he couldn't make out who they were. He'd heard a lot of screaming by the animal but it had finally got its point across, and the three women had gone inside another of the dug-out slave enclosures. Then Robby had heard cries of relief from the people already inside, at the sudden reunion.

But now the beast traversed the floor of the cave. Every now and then it would raise its face toward the ceiling and then cock its head to one side. It seemed to be listening for something. Afterward, it would lower its head and look directly at Robby, stabbing him with its eyes across a hundred feet of cave. It would growl and shake its head and half swipe in his direction, as if it was he who was causing whatever distress it was obviously feeling.

"Did you see who they brought in?" Kelly whispered from behind him.

Robby didn't move his eyes from the animal. "No, they were pushed into the enclosure too fast. Look, it's acting strange. Something must be going on."

Kelly studied the beast as it just stood there. It tilted its head again and again, from one side to the other, and raised its right hand into the air as if trying to grasp something that wasn't there.

"My god, it's hearing something and is confused by it. Either that or the sound is making it uncomfortable. See how it's snapping its hand? Sound waves."

The creature suddenly placed both enormous hands over the sides of its head. It emitted a roar that echoed off the walls of the cave. It looked straight at Robby and Kelly, roared again, and took a menacing step toward them. Then abruptly it turned and awkwardly walked toward the grotto and fell in. There was a quick splash and the animal vanished under the clear water.

Rob walked around in the cave but could hear nothing. Kelly, on her hands and knees, began to crawl out of the enclosure, after the animal. "Robby, do you feel that?"

Robby stood stock still, but still didn't feel or hear anything.

Kelly crawled all the way out and stood. She ran as fast as the darkness would permit to the edge of the grotto, then went down on her hands and knees once again. Her palms were spread out on the floor of the cave.

"What are—"

"Shhh—"

"Come on, what's—"

"Come down here and feel," Kelly said as she felt around closer to the water. Then she suddenly placed her right ear to the wet stone. Robby finally joined her and pressed his ear to the ground.

"Don't you hear that?" she asked. Robby couldn't figure out what she was listening to.

Kelly, smiling, sat back up.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked.

"I think we have company in the lagoon, maybe our rescuers."

He looked from Kelly back to the floor of the cave. Whatever she had felt or heard had eluded him. There was a steady sound but he didn't know what it was.

"Active sonar. Someone out there is pinging the lagoon!"

Now Robby understood. The feeling through his fingertips, and the steady beat of sound that he had felt, was the sound of sonar as it pulsed through the lagoon outside and was acoustically transferred to the grotto through the best conducting material there was: water.

"What's wrong?" Kelly asked when she saw his face.

"That animal didn't look too happy when it left here. It was feeling the sonar pulses, too."

"Damn!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I hope whoever is out there is paying attention, because our slave master is about to pay them a visit."

"Well, she's ready," Jenks said into the intercom as he reached out for the lever that opened the small two-door hatch at the bottom near the bilges. He winched Snoopy 3 into the murky lagoon, then made his way back to the main lounge, where everyone had gathered for their first glimpse into the mine. Even in the radar and communications room, Jackson leaned forward in his seat to watch, and accidentally hit the Sonar Contact Alarm switch, an audible warning system that allowed the operator to be warned of the approach of something moving toward Teacher . When the switch was accidentally thrown, it effectively converted the sonar's programmed task to an ordinary eyes-only sweep.