Alex Archer - The Oracle's Message

Annja laughed. “I’m pretty sure that’s already taken effect.” I have to be crazy to do the things I do, she thought.

Dr. Tiko looked at her like she was quite insane. “Miss Creed, I may have to insist that you stay behind from this expedition.”

“Dr. Tiko.” Spier came walking over with a broad smile on his face. “I don’t think that’s really necessary and neither do you.”

“Don’t tell me my business, Mr. Spier.”

Spier put a hand on his chest. “I wouldn’t dream of doing anything of the sort. But it’s just that this expedition is very important, and all the more so now that the illustrious Annja Creed has deigned to join our merry band. After all, it’s not every day the resort of Club Noah has such a celebrity as this staying on its grounds.”

Dr. Tiko’s eyes narrowed. “Celebrity?”

Spier gestured to Annja. “Surely you haven’t failed to notice that this is the one and only Annja Creed, famed archaeologist and host of the ever-amusing and educational television program Chasing History’s Monsters?”

Dr. Tiko’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t watch television.”

Spier chuckled. “Well, you will simply have to take my word for it, then, won’t you? Annja is a brilliant researcher whose knowledge will be of vital importance to my research in this area.”

“Your research into the underwater formations that haven’t been charted yet?”

“Exactly.”

Annja smiled at Dr. Tiko. “I’m really feeling quite all right, doctor. If I wasn’t, there’s no way I’d be this stubborn.”

The dive master snorted to himself. “I find that doubtful. She’d be stubborn in any condition.”

Spier looked at the dive master. “I think we’re all set from here on out, sir. Thank you for your assistance.”

Realizing he was being dismissed, the dive master harrumphed once, spun on his heels and stalked away.

Dr. Tiko wasn’t so easily convinced. “Perhaps I should come with you. I can remain on the boat and make sure that Annja is well when we get there and when she resurfaces again.”

Spier looked pained. “That would be a marvelous idea, doctor, but I’m afraid of what might befall the other resort guests if you were not around to help them should they require medical attention. After all, how would it look if the resort’s only doctor abandoned everyone else just to look after one of the more beautiful guests here?”

Dr. Tiko nodded. “Perhaps you’re right.”

Spier smiled. “Besides, all of my men have medical training. I’m sure we can stabilize Annja should she require any care while we’re out diving. And then we’d be right back in to see you as soon as possible, anyway.”

Dr. Tiko paused and then reluctantly nodded his head slowly. “All right. This goes against my better judgment, but I’ll agree to it. If anything happens out there, get her back to me as soon as possible.”

“We won’t hesitate,” Spier said.

“In that case,” Dr. Tiko said, “have a good dive.”

“Thank you.”

Annja watched Dr. Tiko walk away and then glanced at Spier. “Thanks for intervening like that.”

“Think nothing of it. I meant what I said. Your participation in this dive is most welcome and to think of you staying here alone onshore would be painful, to say the least.”

Hans nodded at the twenty-foot sloop they were stowing gear on. “We should get aboard before the doctor changes his mind.”

Spier chuckled. “Or at least decides he wants a bigger payoff.”

Annja stopped. “You paid him off?”

Spier smiled. “Just a few dollars to brighten his day. Last night after dinner I went to have a talk with him. Just to make sure he saw things our way.”

“Then what was that all about?”

Spier smiled broadly. “Why, keeping up appearances, of course.”

Hans helped Annja get aboard. “Joachim knew the dive master would be raising a commotion this morning. And if it looked like Dr. Tiko had given in too easily, then he might lose his job. So they acted out a little melodrama for the sake of the other staff workers.”

Annja laughed despite herself. “All of this just for me? You guys are making me feel a little more important than I think is warranted.” Still, she was pleased by the fact they valued her participation so much.

“I consider it money well spent,” Spier said, climbing aboard behind her. “Dr. Tiko is a good man, and a good doctor. It’s always wise to keep such people on friendly terms. One never knows when they’ll prove especially useful given the right situation.”

Mueller was the last man aboard, releasing the ropes that held the sloop to the dock. Heinkel gunned the engine and they reversed and then shot out toward the bay.

The early sun felt hot on Annja’s skin, but the cool splashes of water kept her from sweating too much. The sloop, designed for fast movement, seemed to jump the waves as they zipped away from Club Noah toward the area where Annja had been diving the day before.

“I wonder if we’ll see more tiger sharks,” she said aloud.

Hans looked at her. “If we do, we’ll be sure to point them in your direction since you seem so adept at killing them.”

Annja frowned. “I didn’t want to kill it, but it left me no alternative.”

“We’re not judging you, Annja,” Spier said. “I think we’re all quite a bit in awe of you actually. It’s not every day that you meet a woman who is able to kill a fourteen-foot tiger shark.”

“I suppose not,” Annja said. Good thing they don’t know what I used to kill the damned thing, she thought.

They made good time, and within twenty minutes they’d arrived at more or less the same location as the day before. Gottlieb got them all squared away with gear, and Hans helped Annja into her rig. She tested the regulator, found she had good oxygen flow and then prepared her mask.

Spier spoke quietly in German to his team, who had huddled a bit closer to one another, effectively meaning Annja couldn’t hear them.

“Excuse me?”

Spier glanced at her. “Forgive me, Annja. I don’t mean to exclude you.”

“Secrets, Joachim?”

“Hardly,” Spier said. “We always have a small prayer before we go diving. It’s nothing secretive at all, just more of a personal tradition that we enjoy doing. We like to think it keeps us safe.”

“Has it so far?”

Spier nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, then, that’s a good thing,” Annja said. She glanced at Hans. “Maybe I could have used something like that yesterday, huh?”

Hans grinned. “I don’t think you needed any prayers, Annja. You seemed quite capable on your own without divine intervention.”

“I needed you guys, though.”

Hans shrugged. “We were just passing through. Anyone else in the same situation would have done the same thing.”

“You’re being modest.”

Spier cleared his throat. “I hate to break up this little gathering, but we’re wasting time. I don’t want to lose the day. The weather report says we could get some rain this afternoon, which means our window for proper exploration is a small one.”

“Sorry,” Annja said. “You’re right. We should get going.”

Spier nodded. “If you get into trouble, look for Hans. He’ll be close by your side today.”

Well, that’s not a bad thing at all, Annja thought. She glanced at Hans, who gave her the thumbs-up and a smile around his mouthpiece before falling backward over the side of the sloop.

Annja heard the splashes as, one by one, the team dropped over the side of the boat and vanished into the sea below.

She took one final look around.

Here we go again, she thought.

She dropped back into the ocean.