“Hiro checked the records on that ship and it was clean as whistle. It was known for bringing furniture items, electronics, and food from Europe to the U.S. It was based out of Southampton. There was no connection to Morris and his financial firm,” said Marc.
“What did the cargo manifests say?” asked Leif.
“Exactly what we were told. Antiquities. Mostly furniture, a few paintings, all paid for. The insurance company paid out a hefty sum to the buyers so they could avoid a lawsuit.”
“What caused the sinking?” asked U-Jin.
“That we don’t know,” said Wes. “It was early fall, no ice problems, no storms, just a ship that was suddenly in trouble and unable to reach shore.”
“I have an idea,” said U-Jin.
“If you think I’m putting on a fucking scuba suit and going down in freezing ass cold water, you’re nuts,” growled Patrick. U-Jin stared at him, straight-faced for a few moments, then grinned.
“No. That is not what I thought we would do. However, we do have submersibles that can be fitted with cameras and can go to those depths. We rent a boat, go offshore and find the location of the wreckage, send the submersible down and get a view of her hull.”
“Hey, you’re pretty smart for being such a little fella,” smirked Moose.
“Don’t anger me, brother-in-law, or I will give every child I know your phone number and tell them it’s Santa Claus’ phone.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I definitely would,” grinned U-Jin.
“It’s actually a damn brilliant idea,” smirked Quinn. Moose growled at him and Quinn laughed. “Not the phone number thing, although that’s damn funny. The submersible idea.”
“Let’s make some calls and see if we can get what we need.”
It was nearly midnight by the time the men were in the middle of the freezing Atlantic Ocean. In fairness, it was only a mile or two off-shore but the wind was whipping around and the snow was making visibility nearly impossible.
Fortunately, the Navy lent them a boat or at least gave them a ride. The heat was on and they were comfortable for the time being. Once they stepped out onto the deck, they would freeze their balls off.
“Sirs, this is the location of the cargo ship. She’s clear as day on the sonar, sitting about twelve-hundred feet down. It’s weird, it looks like she just settled at the bottom.”
“What do you mean?” asked Moose.
“Look, sir. It’s like she pulled into dock and just laid her anchor. The anchor is actually just behind her. But when we see wrecks, there’s usually debris, holes from attack, even ships that have broken apart. She looks like the day she rolled out of dry-dock.”
“She damn sure does,” frowned Marc. All of the Jordan’s were SEALs. They’d been on their fair share of ships and they’d seen their fair share of wrecks. This didn’t look like a wreck.
“She was scuttled,” whispered Wes. “That ships’ ballasts were opened and she was scuttled. How many died?”
“None, sir. They were all able to get off the ship via the lifeboats.”
“Something is seriously fucking wrong,” said Marc. “Why sink a perfectly good cargo ship? Even if you don’t want anyone to see the cargo, you could have tried something else.”
“They could have had someone dock beside them and unload the cargo if it was that important,” said River. “I think we need to get that submersible down there so we can see if any of the cargo containers are opened.”
“We have it ready, sirs,” said the young man. He led them to the deck of the ship, all of them wrapped in parkas and cold weather gear. The submersible was hanging above the deck, swinging slightly with the wind and the ship rocking.
“How do we do this?” asked Leif.
“It’s like playing a video game,” smiled the young man. “I can literally manage everything from the tablet here. Small controls help me to maneuver it where I need her. Watch.”
The young man manipulated the unmanned submersible over the side, slowly lowering her into the water. With a security cable still attached, he gently began lowering her.
“We can back up under some cover, sirs,” he yelled through the gusty winds. They backed up, hiding beneath one of the overhangs on the ship. It was blocking just enough wind to ensure they weren’t completely miserable.
It was taking forever to get the submersible down but when the lights went on and the ship was in view, everyone was mesmerized.
