Silent Thunder

down.'

'Do you think these may have been ejected from the Silent Thunder?' Hannah leaned back in her chair. 'Something that can point the way to what they're looking for? Maybe what we want isn't on the sub at all.'

The video repeated on the screen, and Kirov jotted down the coordinates. 'Who knows? But if Pavski had this information over a week ago, he's probably recovered them by now.'

Hannah studied the animatic as the underwater plunge repeated. 'Maybe not. If this depth is correct, it would take some expensive equipment and a lot of expertise to do that. We might still have a chance.'

'How? Unless you're willing to involve Bradworth and the resources of the U.S. government-'

'No way.'

'You're thinking. I can see the wheels go round.' He leaned back in his chair, and a small smile curved his lips. 'It's a lovely thing to behold. How are we going to do this, Hannah?'

'Experts and expensive equipment,' Hannah said. 'In case you're forgetting, I am an expert. And as far as resources go, I have a few connections of my own.'

By sundown, Hannah and Kirov were on a forty-foot rented fishing boat, heading toward the research vessel Aurora 125 miles off the Virginia coast. Kirov manned the wheel while Hannah stood beside him staring ahead at the 225-foot craft.

'Do you really think this is going to work?' Kirov asked.

'Who knows? If it doesn't, we'll try something else,' Hannah said. 'Captain Tanbury is a good guy, but he may be at the mercy of the researchers aboard. He says they're studying brine shrimp populations.'

'Brine shrimp? You mean sea monkeys?'

Hannah chuckled. 'Excellent pop culture reference. Did they advertise them on the back of comic books in Russia, too?'

'Not that I know of, but I've seen the packages in your country's souvenir shops, especially in coastal towns. It's ridiculous. Next they'll be packaging algae and selling it to children as pets.'

'In any case, this is our best hope. My only other options are either too far away or too closely tied to military interests.' She waved back at a man in a bright red shirt who was waving at her from the stern. 'There's Tanbury now. I'm afraid you'll have to pretend to be a member of my crew again.'

Kirov shrugged. 'I'm getting used to being your lackey. As long as I don't catch you enjoying it too much.'

'No promises,' Hannah said, as they pulled alongside the Aurora and tossed mooring lines to the waiting deckhands.

A rope ladder flew over the side, and Captain Tanbury's round red face appeared above the railing. 'Ahoy, Hannah Bryson. Have you come to rescue me?'

Hannah smiled as she and Kirov climbed the ladder. 'Rescue you from what?'

'A life of indentured servitude to a bunch of eggheads. Oh, wait.' He clapped his head in mock distress. 'What am I thinking? You're no good to me. You're an egghead, too!'

'You were damn grateful I was an egghead when I was working with you.' They high-fived each other as she climbed aboard.

Tanbury was a bear of a man in his early fifties, with thick red hair both on top and curling out of the neckline of his T-shirt. He gestured down to Kirov. 'Who's your friend?'

'Another egghead. Captain Earl Tanbury, meet Nicholas Kirov.'

Kirov climbed aboard and shook hands with Tanbury. 'Delighted to meet you, Captain Tanbury.'

'At least, an egghead with manners. A lot of these scientists think I'm such a redneck that they don't bother with the niceties.' Tanbury gestured for them to walk with him down the deck. 'I was happy to get your call, Hannah, but I'm guessing this isn't just a social visit.'

She nodded. 'I need to talk to you about a mutual friend of ours.'

'Who?' he asked warily.

' LISA .'

Tanbury smiled. 'A subject near and dear to my heart. Would you like to see her?'

'Very much.'

'This way.' Tanbury led them to the ship's stern, where a two-man submersible was suspended on a winch. 'There she is. LISA-Lateral Intake Submersible Application. She still works as well as she did the day you left her with us.'

Hannah ran her hand caressingly across LISA's white hull. It was one of her first major contracts, one that had paved the way for many high-profile projects that followed. The egg-shaped underwater craft featured fore-and-aft observation ports and two pairs of finely articulated robotic hands extending from the front of the vessel, tilting downward almost as if poised to play the next movement of a piano concerto.

'Looks good,' Hannah said. 'You've been taking good care of it.'

'Her,' Tanbury corrected. 'We've been taking good care of her.'

Hannah smiled. 'Of course.'

'And she's been taking good care of us. She gets a little prickly when you try to overwork her, but overall she's a good gal.'

Kirov turned toward her with lifted brows. 'See?'

'Men and the sea…' Hannah murmured.

Tanbury chuckled. 'Aw, I'm just trying to get under your skin. I know how you feel about this stuff. Seriously, though, she's as reliable as any submersible I've ever known. There may be newer ones out there with more bells and whistles, but she's a great little performer. The institute has a mile-long list of research groups waiting to lease this boat, and LISA is a big reason why. You did good, Hannah.'

'Glad to hear it,' Hannah said. 'Because I have a big favor to ask, Tanbury.'

'Shoot.'

'I want to borrow LISA for a day.'

Tanbury smile faded. 'I'd call that a damn big favor.'

'It gets bigger. I can't tell you why I need it, and no one off this ship can know I have it.'

Tanbury shook his head. 'I have people from the institute on board who expect to use it all day tomorrow.'

'I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important to me. I need this, Tanbury.'

He studied her expression. 'Yeah, I can see it means a lot to you. Can't it wait a day or two? Maybe I can work it.'

She shook her head.

'Tough.' He thought for a moment. 'Let me put on my bullshit hat for a second. What if I tell them you had concerns about the structural safety of the pod and needed to take it away to conduct some tests? That will satisfy the people on board. But after that, when word gets back to the institute and manufacturer…'

'I'll handle it. Stick by your story, and I'll take the heat.'

'You'll have to.' He grimaced. 'Because this is the kind of caper I could lose my job over.'

'I appreciate it. You won't lose your job. I'll make sure of that.'

'I trust you. There's not many people in this world I'd trust with my livelihood, but you're one of them, Hannah.' He walked to the side and stared down at their rented boat. 'You won't get far trying to take LISA with that.'

'We'll do an underwater tow from the stern. The winch will support it.'

'I guess so, as long as the weather holds.' He turned back. 'Jesus, Hannah, a woman with your connections should be able to just pick up the phone and-'

'You're the only connection that will do me any good right now, Tanbury.'

He sighed. 'How did I get so lucky? Oh well, we're about to have dinner. Care to join us?'

'The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll have your submersible back to you,' Kirov said.

'In that case, cancel the dinner invite. I'll get my crew out here to put LISA in the water.'

It took Tanbury's crew ninety minutes to replace LISA's depleted power cells and