Max called James, his son, to say that he and Carla would be staying aboard the Ocean Raider near Bermuda. Did he and Amy his girlfriend, Carla’s twin sister, want to join them? They would have to sort out their own travel arrangements to get there, but Max would repay him when they met up.
James checked with Amy and came back with a resounding yes! A luxury break in Bermuda and some diving in such clear water was too good to miss.
Max confirmed he would arrange to collect the two of them from the airport, when they landed in Bermuda.
***
Travel on the Lear Jet was always exciting, but uneventful. Conversation between Max and Carla was about the recent adventures and speculation about the cause of the tragedy they were to investigate.
An hour and a half after landing, Max and Carla were unpacking in their cabin and getting dressed for dinner. Amongst the other twenty guests were well known industrialists, venture capitalists, several unknown entrepreneurs and two inventors.
The Organization had set up a select pairing of the guests, so the resulting business directed substantial commissions into their coffers.
Next morning at breakfast, Captain Steel passed Carla a message from Sam. One of the tankers in the most recent incident was a fully loaded gas carrier on route from the Azores to Bermuda and according to wreckage found floating, it had exploded.
“The general census is that when it exploded, it took the other tanker and the two aircraft with it. Looks like it might be fraud, after all,” Carla confided to Max “it will be hard to prove one way or the other, unless we find a clue on the wrecks. The last reports indicated they were south east of Bermuda at Latitude 28 deg.22’37.01”N Longitude 61 deg.20’55.55”W. Taking account of tide, wind and speed, we should be pretty close to their true location. They both sank within 5 miles of each other, at about the same time, which might make finding something more likely than just one ship on its own.”
“I reckon that lies outside the Bermuda Triangle,” murmured Max thoughtfully.
“We should be there tomorrow morning, and then we can do a search from the sky using the new Robinson helicopter. If we see anything, we can drop down and take a closer look. Since the loss, there should be oil seepage, from the fuel or engines, coming to the surface by now,” said Max.
They spent the following day circling over the wreck area in the helicopter. The slight discoloration on the surface of the water could be traces of oil.
When she got back on board the Ocean Raider, Carla received a call from Amy. She and James would land in Bermuda, in about 5 hours’ time. It would be expensive to get them to the ship, some 600 miles from Bermuda; a seaplane was the answer, so Carla made all the arrangements for them.
***
The Ocean Raider drifted as it waited for the arrival of James and Amy.
The weather was glorious, a cloudless sky, brilliant sunshine and a light cooling breeze, imparting a gentle swell to the sapphire blue sea.
As the floats of the small sea plane kissed the water, they threw spray high in the air, the droplets glinting like diamonds in the sunlight. It turned and taxied towards the Ocean Raider, engines spluttering irregularly as they ticked over.
The Ocean Raider launched a small dinghy to collect James and Amy from the plane, with their entire luggage. The dinghy only took a minute to reach the ladder, from the plane; it was so close.
Max and Carla waited excitedly at the ship's rail, to welcome them aboard and introduce them to Captain Steel.
As the plane’s engines restarted, conversation was drowned out. They watched as it turned, until the spray made them move back from the rail.
Two crew members carried luggage up the ship’s ladder, as others hoisted the dinghy back to its davits.
The plane was still turning so it would be clear of the Ocean Raider and facing into the wind for take-off. Everyone was observing the maneuver and saw the sea around the plane go flat and foamy, as trillions of small bubbles rose from the depths.
It happened so quickly that no one had time to shout a warning: the plane just sank quickly into the foam and vanished. A loud muffled explosion, followed by sheets of flame and a huge fountain of water, shot up high in the air where the plane had disappeared.
Flames licked across the surface of the water, even as the falling water from the fountain tried to douse them. The turbulent water went flat again, and the froth circle widened at an alarming rate.
Captain Steel shouted a warning for everyone to take cover below, and full ahead all engines, easterly direction for a following wind, away from the spreading foam.
Fortunately, the ship’s engines were already running to maintain their position, it being too deep for an anchor. The massive surge of power made the whole vessel shudder as the propellers bit into the water. It heeled over in the turn as it started to move, sending loose items crashing around the ship.
As Ocean Raider started to pull out of the turn and ease forward, the foam caught up with the stern, which immediately sank deep into the water. The propellers were alternating between the foam and solid water, sending the over-revving engines into a tortured scream, followed by a deep low moan and shudder that made everyone fall to the deck and cling on as best they could.
The stern was well under the water now and the foam moved relentlessly up the main deck. The stench in the air and feeling of suffocation added to their terror. The ship was bow up at about 20 degrees with a third of the aft main deck under water.
Would this nightmare ever end?
Captain Steel and two crewmembers who had been hauling up the luggage were clinging to the ship's rail, pulling themselves towards the bow, whilst Max, Carla, James and Amy were clinging to the frame of an open door, unable to climb higher. Their luggage slid off the stern and sank, as soon as the stern was awash.
The engine governors held the revs, but still she slipped back, the deck was approaching 40 degrees now, and half the deck was awash. Rear cabins were below water, and the sea gushed in through open portholes and vents.
A swirl of current, or a momentary pause in the flow of bubbles from the seabed, was just enough for the propellers to bite deep into solid water again and force the ship forward. The bow sank, and the stern rose up as she clawed her way out of danger. The air became breathable again and everyone stood up shakily, looking back at the jaws of death they had just cheated.
James and Amy were not used to being exposed to danger; James clung to Amy and the door frame, white faced but resolute, if he had to die he would not do so, screaming.
Apart from the distant spreading foam and the wet hardwood deck, there was no longer any trace of the terror from which they had just escaped. The sky was still a deep, cloudless blue, over the gentle swell of a tranquil ocean.