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– What recommendation?
– What do you mean «what recommendation»? Frost came to see me today. He said you recommended me.
There was silence on the line for several seconds. Miguel then said:
– Brown-eyed, you are confusing something. I don’t know any Frost.
4. TUCKER HUGHES
With unprecedented bliss he got out of the SUV and headed to a bar near the beach thirty-five kilometers from the city of La Plata, anticipating rivers of rum and whiskey. Forty-five-year-old paleontologist Tucker Hughes spent almost a month in Argentina, leading a group of archaeologists. Over the heading of twenty-three days, they carefully dug up the remains of Megaraptor. Now he, along with his colleagues, planned to get completely drunk and relax to the point of disgrace.
The bar was located on the ocean shore, from where the breaking of waves could be heard beautifully and the sounds of the ocean, together with the moonlight, created an atmosphere especially favorable for parting with a sober mind slowly and in small sips.
Tucker was accompanied by his colleague, a junior researcher at the Department of Paleontology, Jan Vogel, and an employee of the Paleontological Museum in the city of Trelew, Fernando Rivera, who, in fact, reported on the possible find and asked the authorities for permission to involve foreign specialists with great expertise in the excavations.
Hardly had the group of archaeologists completed extracting the remains of Megaraptor when Tucker, Jan and Fernando immediately set off to the coast in unison, leaving behind their work clothes, which still had traces of sand on them.
The waitress took an order for a bottle of rum, a bottle of cognac and three bottles of beer as an aperitif.
Looking towards the arriving waves, Tucker said, keeping a dreamy grimace on his face:
– If in this world you could choose the moment when your life would end, I would choose this one. What could be better when you have the sounds of the surf in your ears, the moon and starry sky in front of your eyes, and a glass of excellent rum in your hand?
– Yes – Fernando confirmed. – Even the loss of virginity cannot be compared with this.
A shadow fell on the table from behind them. They turned around, expecting to see the waitress and their order on the tray.
– Gentlemen, good evening.
It was a stranger, dressed in white trousers and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
– Are you Dr. Tucker Hughes? – asked the stranger.
– Yes, it’s me.
– Stephen Frost. Very nice – with these words Frost extended his hand and shook Tucker’s hand. – Mr. Hughes, if you don’t think I’m being intrusive, can I distract you for a moment and discuss something privately?
Tucker didn’t even try to hide his surprise. The stranger spoke clear English, and this definitely indicated that he was not from Argentina, or from this continent at all. The accent was very British. Tucker found it difficult to even imagine that someone had flown across the ocean to talk to him about something. It was even more difficult for him to imagine the subject of conversation for which the stranger had crossed such a distance. He looked around, looking for the waitress with the order. Not finding her, he rose from the table and said, extending his hand to the other end of the bar’s veranda:
– Sure. Let’s pass.
Sitting down at a free table in the very corner, Frost asked:
– How is your fossil doing?
– Apparently, it was a large individual.
– Do you regret that it will remain here?
– Do I regret it? – Tucker Hughes said in an indifferent tone. He answered this question while maintaining an absolutely calm face. – No. I was given permission to work with the remains. I can fly here later and continue working on the skeleton at any time. I don’t really care that British schoolchildren won’t be able to see the skeleton of a huge prehistoric monster. In this regard, I am an egoist and a sociopath. Nothing can be done about it.
– I would say a very practical approach to business.
– So – Tucker said, offering to get down to business.
– I represent the company «Best Technologies». Our company is organizing a research expedition to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. We are recruiting a group of scientists. At the moment there is only one free place left. This is a vacancy for a paleontologist. We need a reputable specialist with extensive experience and knowledge of his field.
– You said «to the bottom of the ocean», right? – Tucker asked with some doubt, narrowing his eyes.
– Absolutely right.
The waitress approached the table. Tucker refused the order. Frost wanted a glass of cold mineral water, and then handed the Hispanic woman with the golden tan a fifty-dollar bill, asking her to bring the order when he left the table.
After the girl left, Tucker continued the conversation:
– Of course, I’ve heard a lot about your breakthrough technologies and therefore I won’t ask how you are going to overcome such depth. I don’t even doubt this. But I am overcome by strong doubts about something else. Mr. Frost, I don’t want to sound like a skeptic, but I don’t think there are any preserved remains of any creatures on the ocean floor.
Before Tucker could even finish speaking, Stephen Frost took out several printed photographs from the side pocket of his black shirt, unfolded them, placed on the table and said:
– I don’t want to mislead modern science either, Mr. Hughes, so I just suggest you look at something very interesting.
Tucker began examining photographs of the same object taken from different angles and with different degrees of brightness. For several minutes he assessed every detail of the object.
– You know, I would like to say that this is a montage, but I cannot say the opposite with 100% accuracy, because…
– Look at this – Frost interrupted, handing Tucker the phone with the video recording. – Taken from our unmanned deep-sea vehicle.
Tucker pressed play. Half a minute later he returned the phone.
– And do you have the coordinates of the location of these remains?
– Of course. Information is too valuable to be ignored. Have you ever seen anything like this? – Frost asked.
– During my student years, I was lucky enough to get to the excavations that were carried out by our university in the east of Algeria. There the professor asked me and my partner to take the tools and increase the depth of the hole, since he assumed that some fragments of the Spinosaurus could remain just below. The main part of the skeleton had been removed before us, so we expected to find some crushed bones, and that’s all. But while we were digging, a small part of the soil on the side crumbled, and we saw some kind of protruding bone. We thought it was another fragment from our dinosaur. We keep digging and digging, but the thing turns out to be huge, and has nothing to do with the Spinosaurus. It was a whole separate skeleton. I have no right to say what exactly it was. Bound himself with an oath. But I can say one thing – if information about this find is made public, then we can safely rewrite all the history textbooks about the Cretaceous period. And to answer your question, I won’t lie. Yes. I saw a lot of damn things that are difficult to explain.
– And what can you say about this find? – Frost asked, pointing to the photographs.
– Judging by the structure of the skeleton, from the outside it looks like a mermaid. But it’s hard to say. Half of the skeleton is buried. – Taking a deep breath, Tucker returned to the main topic: – Well, okay. What is this expedition like?
– You dive into the waters of the Atlantic and follow a given route. Your responsibility is to use the manipulator to pick up all finds whose dimensions allow this to be done. Those, that are too large, you will need to carefully film with a drone, record the location coordinates and do a superficial investigation, resorting only to visual contact. In the future, if these finds are worth it, the company will take steps to bring such remains to the surface. We will entrust the study of them to the one, who discovered them. As for the timing, the voyage will last about two months, maybe another week, taking into account delays on site to study the finds. The amount due for your services is indicated on the back of the photo.
Tucker didn’t look at the back of the photo, but immediately asked:
– When are you planning to sail?
– In a few days the submarine will be launched into the water. Practical tests will be carried out for some time and, if the ship demonstrates itself in accordance with all the declared characteristics and everything goes according to the established plan, then the expedition will start in three months.
The scientist looked somewhere into the distance towards the ocean and said:
– You know, I could refuse, because there are enough remains of all sorts of prehistoric creatures on earth. But I’m already tired of studying dinosaur bones, and then, who knows, maybe in a place, where no one has ever been, there’s a much greater chance of finding something extraordinary.
After finishing his tirade, Tucker Hughes extended his hand to Frost. Frost shook it and said:
– I will be sincerely glad to our cooperation. And since you’ve already made your decision, I have to add something. You will need to arrive at your destination two weeks before departure. You will undergo a medical examination so that your body is ready for the dive; You will also have to undergo instruction in the operation of the submarine, which will become your home for two whole months, and a few other minor procedures. Do you have any questions for me?
– None.
– In that case, I will leave you my contacts…
– I’m afraid, Mr. Frost, it’s useless. You see, my colleagues and I are now facing an alcohol marathon, and by the morning I will no longer be able to find my pants, not to mention your business card.
Stephen Frost spoke in a serious tone:
– Mr. Hughes, I think you didn’t quite understand the essence of the whole situation. You will have to maintain a sober mind, because other people should not find out about our conversation.
The paleontologist lowered his eyelids in annoyance, and when he raised them, he said:
– Of course.
– That’s wonderful. I was sincerely glad to have our conversation.
On that note, Frost rose from his chair.
– Me too – Tucker answered, languidly shaking Frost’s hand.
The waitress immediately brought a glass of water and handed it to Frost.
Returning to the table with his colleagues, Tucker called the waitress and ordered a non-alcoholic beer.
– I don’t understand – Fernando said indignantly.
– Yes, Mr. Hughes – Jan supported. – We planned to relax.
Taking a deep breath, Tucker replied:
– That’s right, we wanted to relax. I don’t want to relax too much today and have my head tense tomorrow morning.
5. PREPARATORY BASE
His name in the company was known only to those who headed it. He always wore same clothes – strict suits in dark tones of black or gray. It is noteworthy that shoes, polished to shine, always matched color of a suit. Short-haired, clean-shaven and with a low, ringing voice. On his left wrist he always wore a watch from an elite brand, which he changed in the same way as his ties – separate ones for each day of the week. Everyone addressed him as «Mr. Smith» or simply «Smith». He was appointed curator of the expedition.
He provided the recruit with information about scientists, whose candidates, in his opinion, were most suitable in order to attract them to work on board the submarine. But his main competence is considered to be the ability to obtain, buy, extort and steal data from closed archives. Thanks to successful work in this direction, Smith made the upcoming expedition possible. With the information, that he managed to collect, diving into the depths of the Atlantic will not be pointless and, most importantly, will not be conducted blindly, but along a clearly defined route.
The day of departure was approaching. The stage of physical training of the crew was coming to end. Medical and preventive procedures were completed.
Late in the evening Smith visited the medical laboratory at the base, where crew members were being examined. He approached Doctor Kate Moore, who had finished reviewing the results of the examination of the last crew member several hours earlier. She was to accompany the crew as a staff doctor. At the age of thirty-eight, Dr. Moore firmly linked her future with medicine, sacrificing a family that she saw no point in starting if she had to disappear at work for twelve hours a day, and sometimes not leave the research institute at all for two or three days in a row. While working for one of the «Best Technologies» subsidiaries, Kate was asked to escort the crew of the submarine. The authorities approached her with a request. But Kate understood that it was better to agree right away, because she did not work for an ordinary pharmaceutical company. Here management provided unlimited opportunities, in exchange for which they had to adapt to local corporate ethics, which never takes into account the opinions of the staff, as all employees knew. Previously she had to monitor the condition of volunteers, who took part in experiments testing new drugs. Now the work ahead was much simpler and more boring.
Kate looked at the monitor, studying the results of the blood test. At this moment Smith approached her. Leaning over, he asked:
– Well, what about their health?
– In principle, everything is normal. Only Kayla Fox has a slight strain on her lungs. They are not working at full capacity. But this is not critical. I’ve already done two injections. In a week she will be as healthy as an ox.
– Is there anything else to come?
– No. I’m done.
– Do you remember everything?
– Saturday, twenty hours thirty-seven minutes, Heathrow, terminal six.
– Then see you soon – Smith said carefreely and left the laboratory for the psychoanalyst’s office.
– Ah, Mr. Smith – said sixty-five-year-old psychoanalyst Quentin Duff. – You’re just in time.
– So, – Smith said, as if drawing a preliminary line, – what’s wrong with our brains?
– Let’s go through it in order.
They sat down on the sofa and the doctor began going through the notes, while simultaneously talking about the results of the examination:
– Number one. Luther de Bont. Forty-nine years old. We may not particularly focus on it. I will only say that I would like to have the same nerves of steel. In the event of any emergency situation, he will maintain a cool mind and act rationally. I can say this with absolute certainty.
Putting aside the folder with the captain’s name, the doctor moved on to the next one:
– Number two. Morgan Sinclair. Thirty-seven years old. Senior mate. The captain himself found him. There is no doubt that it will withstand a long stay under water. The experience of serving on a submarine comes into play here. The candidacy is very good. He has well-developed phlegmatism. A situation that will not change for a long time is unlikely to throw him off balance. Let’s move on. Number three. Henry Mills. Forty-one years. Engineer. Your man.
– Yes. Ours – Smith confirmed. – How did he show himself?
– How should I say it? He is very interested in working with innovations. The time spent on practical tests was clearly not enough for him. He wants to watch longer how the submarine will behave. Has a quality that borders faintly on obsessive-compulsive disorder. In other words, he likes to check the same thing a thousand times. For example, if he closes the door before going to bed, then in five minutes he can check ten times whether he locked it.
– On the other hand, it’s good.
– Agree. With such a person, constant monitoring of the operation of the equipment will be ensured. Further. Number four. Hector Cage. Forty two years. Ichthyologist. There is internal depression against the background of labor dissatisfaction. Having changed his job, he stopped traveling around the world and studying rare species of fish. The new university does not provide him with such an opportunity. In this regard, he has high hopes for this expedition and is looking forward to its beginning. If negative energy accumulates, he will prefer to hold it in until someone is unlucky enough to meet him at the wrong time. But considering that he has not participated in marine fauna research for more than two years, his condition is quite suitable for diving. He will do his work with great zeal. So – sighing, Quentin Duff said, moving on to the next folder: – Number five. Kayla Fox. Thirty five years. Biologist. I must say, a very rare set of qualities. In her psychotype, such qualities as scrupulousness and pedantry emerge most clearly. But at the same time, curiously, she has some melancholic traits. Namely, a penchant for something creative. I wouldn’t be surprised, if somewhere in her home she’s conducting illegal experiments on growing some kind of centaur or alien. It is worth noting that she has a very valuable quality – she knows how to keep secrets. True, she can also store those that should be told to her superiors.
– Can she find something at the bottom and hide it from us? – Smith asked in a dubious voice.
– Considering, that she will have to work in a strictly limited space for a long time, I don’t think so. And then, she understands that in the future she can get permanent work with unique materials. So, it’s unlikely. Not in this case.
– Fine. Who do we have next?
– Sixth. Dr. Moore. I didn’t talk to her for a very long time. After all, we’ve been working together for several months now. I only asked about things that I couldn’t ask my colleague. Her general psychological portrait is quite transparent. There is only one weakness that can manifest itself during the swimming. She is not able to sit without work for a long time. In other words, if all the crew members are alive and well, then she will simply have nothing to do, and this in turn will affect her morale. Therefore, no matter how strange it may sound, healthy patients on board can become a problem for her.
Any problem can be solved – Smith thought instantly.
Duff continued:
– Ah! Number seven. The most interesting specimen. Tucker Hughes. Forty-five years. Paleontologist. Ready to work like a horse for months. But I bet that after finishing his long and fruitful work, he will boldly go to nearest brothel or tavern to remember the delights of life and fall into oblivion. It will also sound strange, but he is able to restrain his natural instincts and animal urges. My diagnosis: eligible.
