Phantom Prospect - Alex Archer [27]
Cole frowned. “Maybe that’s a bad comparison.”
“Maybe.”
“Anyway, the cage will be here and I’ll go for a swim.” He eyed her. “You’re welcome to join me.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Because you almost did last night. Without the benefit of the cage, I might add.”
“It was just an idea,” Annja said. “And not my most lucid moment at that.”
“But you had the urge, didn’t you?”
Annja shook her head. “I was terrified.” She leaned across the table. “Look, I’ve confronted scores of people before in combat. It happens with me a lot. I know how to stare death in the face provided that face is human. But a shark?” She leaned back. “That’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with. Not sure I could.”
Cole nodded. “I understand. But when you went into the cage off Montauk, you felt empowered, right?”
“I felt scared,” Annja said. “But, yeah, it felt good confronting that particular demon.”
“So come in with me and test your limits again.” He looked at her intently. “Hunter thinks I’m scum for asking you to come along, but I know what you’re going through.”
“How’s that?”
Cole smiled. “What—you think I just woke up one day and decided to go swimming with sharks?”
“I don’t know, did you?”
“It wasn’t like that at all. I was scared to death of them. I saw Jaws when I was a kid like everyone else. For several years I wouldn’t go anywhere near the ocean. If I couldn’t see the bottom, I wanted no part of it. I stuck with pools and lakes, thinking they were safer.”
“Well, they are.”
Cole nodded. “Yeah, but at the same time, I used to marvel at the sharks themselves. There’s something incredible about them.”
“We discussed this.”
Cole pushed his bowl away. “Can you imagine that nature gifted you with so many millions of years as to make you the perfect hunting machine? Your body is streamlined for flying through the water. You have the agility to twist and turn and maneuver like a jet in a dogfight. Your weapons are savage and beautiful at the same time. You’re perfectly adapted for your environment and rule it without question.”
Annja smiled. Maybe she did understand some of that.
Cole kept going. “That’s what eventually won out over my fear. It took a long time, true. But the more I studied, the more intrigued I was. And when I went to the aquarium, it was always the sharks that swam in the huge tanks that drew my attention the most.”
“And that was it?”
Cole shrugged. “Sometimes that’s all it takes. I saw them for what they were, rather than what my fear wanted them to be.”
“You can’t deny the records of attacks on humans, though.”
“Like any other animal,” Cole said. “Sharks just get a bad rap. What humans need to remember is really very simple.”
“And what’s that?”
“That as soon as we step into the water, we’re no longer the dominant species. We’re in their world. And all the rules change.”
“Are you going to be able to remember that later today when you go down there?”
Cole smiled. “If I don’t, I’m dead.”
11
By ten o’clock, Annja heard the telltale sound of an approaching motor. She went out on deck and saw a smaller boat powering up to the Seeker. Strapped down on the bow was a large cage, not entirely unlike what she had used back on Montauk when she and Cole had dived with the great whites.
Cole joined her on deck. “Ah, there it is now. Looks great, doesn’t it?”
“I guess. You sure something like that will protect you from that giant cruising down there?”
“Only one way to find out,” Cole said. “And that’s to actually get it into the water.”
“With the shark.”
Cole looked at her. “Well, obviously.”
The boat came alongside the Seeker and cut the throttle on its engines down to a low purr. A grizzled old salt dog came out of the wheelhouse. “Hey, there.”
Cole waved. “I see you got the package.”
“This for you, then?”
Cole nodded. “Yep. All for me.” He glanced at Annja. “Possibly one other, if she’s up for it.”
The salt dog shook his head. “Wasting your time, mate. There haven’t been any sharks in these waters for years and years. Nothing worth eating up here. The