Simon Hawke - The Nautilus Sanction

“What do we do meanwhile?” she said.

Lucas shrugged. “We wait.”

“If this fellow is truly so dangerous,” said Land, “why not just do away with him? Kill Drakov and this Benedetto, and the others will lack for leadership.”

“The only problem with that idea,” Lucas said, “is Drakov’s promise to kill us all if any one of our group stepped out of line. The three of us would be perfectly willing to accept that risk, but what about yourself and Verne?”

Land shrugged. “For my part, the risk don’t bother me a great lot. But do you think he would kill Verne? He seemed quite taken with him.”

“That may be true,” said Finn, “but if Drakov’s killed, who’ll protect Verne from the others?”

“Yes, that is true,” said Land. “We can’t decide without asking him. Maybe we’ll have a chance to kill this madman and escape. This boat must surface sometime.”

There was a knock at their door and it opened, admitting Benedetto. He took one step into the cabin and looked around at them, shaking his head.

“If you are intent upon hatching plots,” he said, “at least have the brains to do it in a manner that you cannot be overheard. This cabin is monitored, you know. It would not have gone well for you if someone else had overheard you, rather than myself. If you must have private discussions, I would suggest the engine room. It is rather noisy there. Of course, the crew will wonder what you are talking about and they will report it to the captain. If I were you, I wouldn’t bother. And I wouldn’t waste my time trying to incite any of these Russians to mutiny, either. It would be pointless. Now, if you don’t mind, I would really like to get some sleep. Do try not to stay up late. We will keep military hours aboard. Good night to you.”

He closed the door.

“There goes a most strange man,” said Land. “What do you make of him?”

Lucas shook his head. “Damned if I know, Ned. I’m starting to think you were right all along and everyone on board is crazy.”

“Interesting he should have us monitored, though,” said Andre. “It does tell us one thing we needed to know.”

“What might that be?” said Land.

“He’s vulnerable,” said Andre. “Let’s sleep on it.”

Verne did not return to the cabin at all that night. They encountered him at breakfast, looking haggard, but with a wild light in his eyes.

“I am going to spend all of my time in this ship’s library!” he said. “I did not sleep at all last night. There is so much to learn. That library is a treasure trove! Books on science, history, novels and texts, in Russian, French, German and English, all published years from now! I have been trying to understand this atomic energy more completely. This Einstein was a genius! Or, I should say, I suppose, he will be a genius. One could read his work for years and still not comprehend it all. What an amazing stroke of luck to find myself aboard this submarine boat! What a fantastic opportunity!”

“You are about to be given yet another fantastic opportunity, Mr. Verne,” said Drakov, coming to the table with his inevitable escort. “I trust you all slept well?”

Only Verne replied. “I could not sleep a wink, Captain Drakov. I found myself unable to resist your fabulous store of books.”

“Then you must force yourself to rest immediately after breakfast, sir,” said Drakov. “You will need all your energy for what is to come. Are you up to a stroll upon the ocean bottom?”

Verne looked alarmed, as did Land.

“Never fear,” said Drakov, smiling. “It is not my intention to drown you. I assure you that you will be able to accompany me on a submarine excursion in complete safety.”

“But… how is this possible?” said Verne.

“You shall see,” said Drakov. “Shortly after breakfast, we will be making temporal transition. The diving Klaxon will sound, followed immediately by the chimes used to signal a missile alert. Since this submarine was not equipped with a special signal for time travel, we must improvise and use a combination of those two. At that point, I would advise you to go to your cabin and lie down. The effects of traveling through time can be mildly unpleasant, but no more so than those of drinking too much wine. The effect will not last long.”

“Traveling through time!” said Verne, in awe. “But… to where?”

Our destination will be the deep water off the Florida Keys, in the 18th century,” said Drakov.

“The 18th century!” said Land.

“Quite correct. We are going on an expedition to recover undersea treasure.”

Land’s eyes lit up. “Treasure? What sort of treasure? Gold?”

“That and much more,” said Drakov. He drank his coffee, watching them with amusement. “We can expect for there to be quite a horde aboard a sunken Spanish galleon.”

“A Spanish galleon!” said Ned.

“Part of a fleet,” said Drakov. “Does the prospect interest you, Mr. Land?”

“You’re going to attack this fleet?” said Andre.

“No, Miss Cross, I will not. I could easily destroy the entire armada if I chose it. However, the destruction of this fleet is a fact of history. I know you respect history,” he added, with a smile.

“On the 15th of July, in the year 1733,” he continued, “a hurricane of immense strength swept up from the Lesser Antilles, past the English Leeward Islands, heading toward the Florida Keys. In its wake, it left massive destruction on the islands of Marie Galante, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Redonda, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Eustatius and Saba. A Spanish treasure armada under the command of General Don Rodrigo de Torres y Morales had the misfortune to be caught in this terrible storm. Their ill luck and our good fortune.

“The armada sailed from the harbor of San Cristobal de la Habana on the morning of July 13. In all, twenty ships made up this fleet, escorting treasure back to Spain. It was composed of galleons, naos and smaller merchant vessels. Only one, the Nuestra Senora del Rosario, survived the storm. The others, the Almiranta, El Infante, the San Jose, the Populo, the Lerri, the El Sueco de Arizon, the Capitana, all perished, pounded into bits as they were driven on the reefs by the fierce winds.

“They were carrying a fortune in treasure valued at over twelve million pesos in gold and silver, as well as tobacco and spices, teas, ceramics, semi-precious stones and that was only the reported cargo. You can be certain there was contraband on board the ships, as well.”

“Why contraband?” said Verne.

“Greed,” said Drakov. “The King of Spain’s treasuries were supplied by the wealth of the New World. All the treasure brought to Spain was taxed. The tax was known as the King’s Fifth or the Royal Fifth. Smugglers went to great lengths to avoid paying this tax. Despite agents of the Board of Trade examining all cargo carefully, much was hidden from their eyes by clever sailors. The penalties were severe and informants were rewarded with a portion of the contraband recovered, so smuggling became quite an art. Treasure was hidden in barrels of spices and in bales of tobacco, among the ballast stones, anywhere one could think of secreting some gold or silver. There is no telling how much treasure might be aboard those ships. There were even incidents where entire ships were not listed on the manifests and hidden among the other vessels of large fleets.”

“How will you be able to obtain this treasure?” Land said.

“We will arrive upon the scene of the disaster after the Spaniards have completed what salvage operations they were able to employ,” said Drakov. “This is not to say we shall arrive soon after the disaster itself. These salvage operations often went on for years. Considering what was at stake, ships which sank in coastal waters were eagerly sought after by freebooters who would immediately flock to the location if protective measures were not taken. In this particular case, the Spaniards were able to refloat several of the ships. Those which were too damaged to refloat were burned to the water line, the better to enable divers to swim down directly into the cargo holds and to aid in hiding the locations of the wrecks. A great deal of the treasure was recovered, but there was much left to interest future treasure hunters in the coming centuries. It would be years before the wrecks were thoroughly picked clean, years before the invention of the magnetometer enabled hunters to find the treasure. Some of the wrecks would, in several generations, even become tourist attractions. But we are seeking one wreck in particular.”