Dot slowed as she approached the boat, and Oliver climbed down to the lower deck to see her.
Sam caught the rope as she idled the engine.
“I told you to take us directly to the island,” Rodney said, glaring at Dot.
Dot ignored him and addressed Oliver instead.“When are you going under again?”
He smiled.Suddenly he was preferable to Rodney, though that wasn’t saying much.No one was lower than Rodney.“Maybe twenty minutes.”
She turned to Rodney.“Oliver and Sam discovered the drugs.Did you want to interview them?”
“I want to see the island first.”
“We could show you where we found the barrel,” Sam said.“Shouldn’t take more than half an hour.You wouldn’t want to hold up the researchers any more than you have to.They’re on a tight schedule.”
The man had a knack for being reasonable and non-confrontational.Seemingly harmless, though Oliver had seen how quickly he shifted to alert and ready.
Rodney hesitated, but it seemed like he couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse to refuse as he said, “Fine.Get on board.”
Oliver called to his students, “Get ready for the next dive, but wait until I get back.”
They all watched with interest as he climbed into the police boat.The idea of an undiscovered shipwreck was excitement enough for them, but add in the rumours of treasure and the drugs and it was probably more than they’d dreamed of.
He would have been fascinated at their age.Now, it was just a pain in the arse.
He smiled at Dot, but she had already turned her attention back to the wheel and was navigating away from theOceanid.The bags under her eyes weren’t as dark today, though her posture was just as tense, but that could be because Rodney was near.
Sam shook Rodney’s hand as he introduced himself and said, “This is Oliver Anderson.He’s leading the expedition.”
Rodney’s eyes narrowed, and he glanced between Dot and Oliver.Maybe he remembered the name.Oliver nodded at him.“Nice to see you again, Rodney,” he lied.
When they reached the shore, Rodney took charge.“Where did you find the barrel?”
Sam took out his phone and checked the screen, walking with it for a hundred metres before he stopped.“Here.”
“That’s precise,” Rodney said.
Sam smirked.“GPS.”
“Then I guess you know where the drugs landed too.”The challenge was clear.
“Yeah.I sent Dot the coordinates.”
Before Rodney could speak, Dot said, “They’re in the pack I put together for you.”
Oliver kept his expression neutral, but inwardly he smiled as Rodney puffed up like a rooster on display.
“I don’t have time to read everything.Take me through exactly what happened.”
Dot stepped back and let Sam lead.Oliver added some information when he deemed necessary, but it was a laborious process as Rodney questioned them again and again, as if waiting for them to trip up.
Dickhead.
Oliver had done his own calculations last night based on the storm data and knew where he would dive to check if there were any more barrels, but he hadn’t told Dot yet.No way was he telling Rodney.
Finally, after an hour of going through the same information, he’d had enough.“I need to get back to my students.We’ve told you everything.”
Rodney glowered.“You’re finished when I say you’re finished.”
