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.“We might like it so much down there, we may never come up,” Jack joked.Price ignored Jack’s humor and continued: “Once you two seal the hatch, we’ll immediately lower you into the ocean, followed by two ROVs.At the bottom, they’ll attached to your craft and pull you into position.”A puzzled look crossed Jack’s face.“How do you expect to close the doors to the loading hanger with a cable hanging off the spacecraft?” he asked.“Now that we’re using the spacecraft instead of the subs, we don’t need to use the hanger.You’ll be accessing through the smaller entrance on the far side of the facility.”Jack stood in shock, unable to speak, the change in the mission now all but destroying any ideas he had about escaping.Price waited a moment, then continued: “Once the ROVs position you, you’ll have to activate the magnetic seal.We’re pretty certain, once you get close enough, it’ll be a self-guiding system where it centers the craft on the door, creates the seal, then opens the hatch.The rest of the mission will be on you.Any questions?” he asked.Both Javi and Jack men shook their heads.“One more thing…,” Price added.“Just in case you two try to do something ‘clever’, our engineers have manually overridden each function of the control system: the thrusters and auto-piloting system are completely inoperable.”Javi shot Jack a worried glance.Jack stood stone cold with disappointment.The last statement sealed their fate.Price caught the subtle exchange between them and chuckled aloud.“I’m always amazed when civilians think they can outsmart us,” he said to Wexler.Turning back to Javi and Jack, he continued in condescending tone, “News flash boys: we do this for a living.Did you really think we weren’t going to consider a plan of escape?”Javi and Jack stood dazed from the revelation.Price pursed his lips and shook his head, mocking the two.“Take good care of our passengers,” he said to Wexler.He tapped his weapon once more and replied, “They’re in good hands.”----- ----- ----- -----Seated inside the cockpit, Javi and Jack gazed at the crystal scepter, extending from the control console in front of them.Jack reached forward and pushed down on the handle, instantly activating the control console.As the holograms came to life, he touched on a button on the screen.Seconds later, the hatch began to close.“Just remember boys, I’m watching you,” Wexler shouted from the engine compartment, reminding the two of his presence.“Thanks for that,” Jack shot back, mildly irritated.The exchange was abruptly ended by movement of the spacecraft.Staring out the cockpit windows, Javi and Jack watched a man on the boat deck directing the overhead crane operator.As he waved and pointed with his flashlights, the three inside the craft watched the sights rush past their windows while being lowered into the black-looking ocean.Javi breathed a sigh of nervousness as the craft sunk below the surface.Looking up through the glassed roof, they watched the first ROV being lowered into the water, then second.A short time later, their robotic arms latched onto the netting surrounding the spacecraft and began to pull it lower.As they watched the bright lights on the surface fade out of sight, they focused their attention on the hologram.Hieroglyphics seem to update continuously as they descended lower.“What’s that data being reported?” Wexler questioned.“It’s our position,” Javi answered.“Latitude, longitude and elevation.”Wexler nodded, then mumbled something into his microphone.“Good answer, boys.Our team confirmed your response: it is reporting our position,” he said.“You might have missed them when you came in, but there’s a camera mounted just behind you on the bulkhead.”“If you have a team that can read the hieroglyphics, why didn’t you just send them down in the first place,” Jack shot back angrily.“Their translations are extremely limited.They know only the basics,” Wexler explained, then added, “But don’t get ideas about overinflating your importance.These guys learn fast.It won’t be too long before they’re proficient.”Jack shot Javi a worried glance.Jack widened his eyes in understanding [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]