Fatal Tide - Iris Johansen [68]
“I have two buddies.”
“Well, now you have three. And I'm the one with the shark gun.” He turned and headed for the cabins. “I'll go suit up while you have a discussion with Pete and Susie and tell them to be nice to me.”
It was just before sunset when Kelby reached down a hand to help Melis back on the Trina. “They didn't range very far from the ship.” He took off his goggles. “Maybe they are afraid.”
“We'll know soon.” She took off her compressed-air tank and moved over to the rail. Pete and Susie were still playing in the sea. “I couldn't have asked for a better partner down there. You're very good in the water, Kelby.”
“What did you expect? This is what I do for a living.”
She smiled. “Besides clip coupons?”
“Wilson does that for me.” His gaze went to the dolphins. “It was weird being down there with them. It's their world. It makes you feel kind of inadequate.”
“How do you think they feel when they're beached?” She shook her head. “Only with them it's life or death.”
“It could be life or death for us in their domain too. But we have all the apparatus to keep us alive.”
“Unless it goes wrong. Then we could freeze to death in minutes. Their bodies just make the adjustment to furnish them with more heat. They're incredibly well suited for the sea. It's almost unbelievable that they originated on land. Almost every part of their body is— There they go.”
The dolphins had gone underwater, and only a dull gleam of silver showed beneath the surface as they swam away.
No use lingering here, staring after them. “That's it.” She turned and headed for the cabin. “I've got to strip down and get in a shower.”
“Would you like to see the sonar imager first?”
She stopped. “What?”
Kelby gestured to a cumbersome tarp-wrapped bundle in the middle of the deck. “I had Nicholas get the crew to bring it up from the hold. I wasn't sure we were going to get cooperation from Pete and Susie. It's pretty cool.”
He reminded her of an eager little boy. “By all means, show me.”
He swept the tarp off the long yellow metal machine. “It's the latest technology. See, it's attached to the back of the ship and we pull it behind us. The sound waves bounce off the bottom of the ocean floor, and they're measured and transferred to the graphs on the machine. It can even tell us what's several feet under the bottom down there. It's much more sophisticated than the one they used at Helike. That one they called the fish, but this one they nicknamed—”
“Dodo bird?”
He frowned. “Dynojet. And why the hell are you laughing?”
“Because it's funny. Those extensions on each side look like little wings.” She went around to the head of the imager and started to laugh again. “Oh, my God.”
“What's wrong?” He followed her to look at the head. He muttered a curse. “I'm going to kill Nicholas.”
Two eyes had been drawn on either side of the head, complete with sweeping long lashes.
“Are you sure it was Nicholas?”
“Who else would defile a fine machine like this?”
“You have a point. It looks like a pelican or some weird cartoon bird.”
He scowled. “Maybe it does. But dodos are extinct, and this is the latest technology.”
“I think you said that,” she said solemnly. “Sorry. I called it the way I saw it.” He appeared so disappointed that she added, “But your dodo is a nice, cheerful color.”
“Thanks for those patronizing words. At least I won't have to coax the imager into helping us, like you do Pete and Susie.”
“I'm afraid I'd rather rely on the dolphins.” She turned away. “I'll see you at dinner.”
“Billy will be pleased,” Kelby said. “He was developing a complex about you avoiding his meals.”
“We wouldn't want that.” She smiled at him over her shoulder. “There's little enough that's normal around here.”
“I like this norm,” he said. “Even though you laughed at my imager. I've not seen you smile this much since I met you.”
“I'm happy,” she said simply. “Things have been bad lately, but these last hours were good. And I refuse to feel guilty for letting myself enjoy them.”
“By