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Giordino didn't hear him. Pitt's voice was drowned out by falling rock that smashed against the dome and reverberated all around them. Then Pitt slammed the hatch shut and was gone.
The six big men stuffed inside seemed to fill every square centimeter of the interior. They said nothing, avoiding each other's stares. Then, as if all eyes were following a thrown football in the last seconds of a game, they watched expectantly as Giordino weaved like an eel through their packed bodies into the pilot's seat.
He swiftly switched on the electric motors that ran the submersible over rails into the air lock. He rushed through the checklist and had just programmed the computer when the massive interior door closed and water began surging through special restriction valves from the ice-cold sea outside. The instant the lock was filled and equalized with the immense water pressure, the computer automatically opened the exterior door. Then Giordino took over manual control, engaged the thrusters to maximum power, and drove the sub toward the waves far above.
While Giordino and his passengers were in the lock, Pitt quickly turned his attention to the boarding of the second submersible. He ordered the NUMA team women to enter first. Then he silently nodded for Stacy to follow.
She hesitated at the hatch opening, shot him a strained, questioning look. She was standing quite still as though stunned by what was happening around her.
"Are you going to die because I took your place?" she asked softly.
Pitt flashed a madcap smile. "Keep a date open for rum collins at sunset on the lanai of the Halekalani Hotel in Honolulu."
She tried to form the words for a reply, but before they came out the next man in line pushed her none too gently into the sub.
Pitt stepped over to Dave Lowden, chief vehicle engineer on the project. About as perturbed as a clam, Lowden pulled up the zipper on his leather bomber jacket with one hand while pushing his rimless glasses up the bridge of his nose with the other.
"You want me to act as co-pilot?" Lowden asked in a low voice.
"No, you take her up alone," said Pitt. "I'll wait for Giordino to come back."
Lowden could not control the saddened expression that crossed his face. "Better I should stay than you."
"You have a pretty wife and three kids. I'm single. Get your ass in that sub, and be quick about it." Pitt turned his back on Lowden and walked over to where Plunkett and Salazar were standing.
Plunkett also showed no shred of fear. The big ocean engineer looked as content as a sheepherder casually eyeing his flock during a spring shower.
"Do you have a family, Doc?" Pitt asked.
Plunkett gave a slight shake of his head. "Me? Not bloody likely. I'm an old confirmed bachelor."
"I thought as much."
Salazar was nervously rubbing his hands together, a frightened light in his eyes. He was achingly aware of his helplessness and a certainty that he was about to die.
"I believe you said you had a wife?" Pitt asked, directing his question to Salazar.
"And a son," he muttered. "They're in Veracruz."
"There's room for one more. Hurry and jump in."
"I'll make eight," Salazar said dumbly. "I thought your submersibles only held seven."
"I put the biggest men in the first sub and crammed the smallest and three ladies in the second. There should be enough space left over to squeeze in a little guy like you."
Without a thank-you, Salazar scrambled into the submersible as Pitt swung the hatch cover closed against his heels. Then Lowden dogged it tight from the inside.
As the submersible rolled into the air lock and the door closed with a sickening finality, Plunkett slapped Pitt's back with a great bear paw of a hand.
"You're a brave one, Mr. Pitt. No man could have played God better."
"Sorry I couldn't find an extra seat for you."
"No matter. I consider it an honor to die in good company."
Pitt stared at Plunkett, mild surprise in his eyes. "Who said anything about dying?"
"Come now, man. I know the sea. It doesn't take a seismographic genius to know your project is about to collapse around our ears."
