Sam chuckled.“We’re used to waiting around.One of us will monitor you, while the other does work on the boat.”He tapped the railing affectionately.“She’s officially mine now.The season has ended, and the previous owner is moving away.I can make the adjustments I want to make without worrying about offending him.”He smiled.“Plus I have to reapply for my tour licence which is going to take forever.I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.”
“Great.”
Occasionally they’d get a captain who grew bored and tried to make demands, even though they’d hired the boat for the duration of the expedition.Some had tried to make them head in early because of weather forecasts, so Oliver had studied weather charts and conditions and made a point of knowing a little about it so as not to be fooled.
He helped himself to a plate of salad and cold meat.There wasn’t anything too heavy, which he appreciated.Sam had provided the food as part of the charge of hiring the boat, which made it one less thing he had to spend time on.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard the rumble of an engine.Both he and Sam glanced up at the same time.He strode to the side of the boat.A small aluminium dinghy was making its way towards them, a couple of fishing rods protruding at the back.
Were they coming over to see what was going on, or were they planning to fish the area?
Neither option was ideal.
Oliver ate his lunch while it approached.The dive flag had been set up above the wreck for the day.
The dinghy skirted the tour boat and dropped its anchor close to the dive flag.Two men on board started putting on dive gear.Shit.They had to be having a laugh.He placed his plate on the table.“Can I use the tender?”
“I’ll drive you over,” Sam replied.
They moved quickly and reached the dinghy as the men were about to go over.Oliver yelled to get their attention, and they hesitated.Would they ignore the hail?Sam gunned the engine and brought them alongside the dinghy before the men could reach a decision.
“Hey,” Oliver called, trying for jovial when he wanted to yell.“This area is temporarily off-limits for divers.”
The man who replied was old enough to be Oliver’s father and had grey hair and the tanned leathery skin of someone who had spent their life in the sun.“There’s a dive flag right there.”
Oliver nodded.“For my team.I’m from the Shipwrecks Museum.We’re cataloguing a shipwreck.”
“Really?”The man faked surprise.“I didn’t know.”
He wouldn’t win any acting awards.“Yeah.Did you know it’s illegal to remove anything from a shipwreck in Australian waters?”
“You don’t say.”
“Do you also know those rumours of treasure are bullshit?”Sam added.“There’s nothing down there but anchors and cannons.”
Oliver made a mental note to ask Sam how he knew.Instead, he smiled at the men.“You’ll need to find somewhere else to dive for a few weeks.”
“You don’t own the ocean.”
“No, but this is a temporary no-go zone if you don’t have permission, and you don’t have permission.”
The younger man of the two tapped the older guy on the shoulder.“Let’s go, Dad.”
The older man growled.“Damned politics.”He undid his BCD vest and dumped it on the bottom of the dinghy, making it rock.His son looked apologetic and waved as they sped away.
Oliver exhaled.“That’s the first of many.”He scanned the horizon and saw another boat heading their way.He swore.
Sam followed his gaze as they drove back to theOceanid.“Sherlock and I can police the surface while you’re under.”
“Thanks.”Hopefully the ex-army men would be enough to scare would be treasure hunters away.“How do you know what’s down there?”
He grinned.“Penelope and I dived it after Georgie found it.We didn’t touch anything, just wanted to see it for ourselves.”
“Were you searching for treasure?”
Sam laughed.“Nope.I like to dive new places and Penelope is getting back into diving.It seemed like a good option.”
Oliver studied him, looking for a lie, and couldn’t find it.When they tied up to theOceanid, Suzyn asked, “What did they want?”
