Phantom Prospect - Alex Archer [43]
Annja sighed. “Garin became your sword, then.”
Sheila shrugged. “That’s one way of looking at it, I guess. He came along at a particular time, much like the sword did with you. I guess that’s one of the great mysteries of life, how things seem to happen at just the right moment.”
“No coincidences,” Annja said. “That’s too easy an explanation. And I’ve seen enough to not believe in coincidence anymore.”
“Coincidence does seem to be the crutch for the unimaginative.” Sheila smiled. “Garin told me you were something else.”
“That’s only because he’s been trying to seduce me for years,” Annja said.
“There aren’t many who can resist him.”
“I never claimed it was easy,” Annja said with a laugh.
“You’re honest,” Sheila said. “I like that.”
“So the question now seems to be how do we deal with the shark terrorizing this boat and all who would dive?”
Sheila looked at Annja. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Not yet.”
“You’re going to have to deal with it, Annja. You’re going to have to kill the shark so we can get to the treasure.”
17
“You’re dreaming,” Annja said. “There’s no way in hell I’m going into the water with that shark. The thing’s huge!”
Sheila shook her head. “We don’t have a choice.”
Annja frowned. “And what would you be doing right now if I wasn’t here? You’d have to figure out something else, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then figure it out. Leave me out of this. I’ll be more than happy to help you recover the crucifix, but I’m not going into combat with some giant fish. No way.”
Annja got up to leave, but Sheila put up her hand. “Remember what we were just talking about?”
“What?”
“Destiny and how it impacts us?”
“Fighting that shark is not my destiny. It’s just a convenient way for you to get out of doing your job.”
Sheila shook her head. “I wish it was that simple. But the fact that you’re here is the same as it’s always been. You are where you are for a reason. And for you to deny that is tempting the fates in the very worst way.”
“I’ve been tempting fate a lot longer than you know,” Annja said. “I just don’t see how I can help.”
“You can help because your sword is here on this boat, right now. And you know that the shark can’t survive against it.”
“The sword’s not perfect,” Annja said. “Neither is the wielder of it. You may have bought into the whole good versus evil thing, but I still struggle with it and my own place in this universe. Sometimes I don’t even want this sword. Sometimes all I want is my old life back. Or at least the life I thought belonged to me.”
“You’re not the only one, Annja.”
Annja sighed. “Suppose I agree to go through with it, how would we even do it? The shark is huge. I’ll never last long enough to get close.”
“We’ve got the cage that Cole had shipped in, right?”
“You think I can kill the shark from inside the cage?”
“Maybe.”
“It’d be me sticking my sword out between the bars, poking at it and probably losing it in the process.”
“You can’t lose it,” Sheila said. “You simply will it back to where it rests when you aren’t using it.”
“Garin told you about that?”
“As I said, Garin tries to explain a lot of things so I’m better prepared when I go out on operations. There was a chance you would be here, albeit a small one and one that we couldn’t overtly manipulate to our advantage, but we hoped you’d show up.”
“How so?”
“We know about your relationship with Cole. We knew about Hunter. And it was hoped there would be a convergence of situations.”
“Cole and I don’t really have a relationship. We’re just friends.”
“Call it whatever you want,” Sheila said. “I’m not here to pass judgment on you or your lifestyle.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“But the fact remains we have to deal with that shark.”
“We’ve got to deal with the traitor on board the boat, as well,” Annja said. “Otherwise, the shark is going to be the least of our problems.”
“Hunter and Cole should be able to figure out who the traitor is without our help. We’ve got bigger fish to fry, pardon