hours. Maybe more. But it would have to be somebody who knows how to operate a welding torch under water. That’s a pretty specialized skill. And you’d have to do it right next to the navy. That’d be pretty crazy.”
“I suppose.”
“And that’s sabotage.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe it’s terrorism.”
“Nah, that’s not terrorism.” Jewels sipped her tea and stared at the periscope, but her eyes were out of focus. Her mind was far away. I might have guessed where.
Chapter Nine
WE WERE UP BEFORE the sun. I took three water bottles, a bag of dog biscuits, my jacket, hat, sunscreen, sleeping mat, one-man tent, two hundred dollars, and squeezed it all into a knapsack. The knapsack hung over one shoulder, and the tool bag hung over the other, criss-crossing my front. I climbed out with Hollie, put him down on the bank with all of the stuff, and told him to wait there. He didn’t like that, but he obeyed me. Then I went back to the sub.
I motored out to the small breakwater that protected the pier. It was just a hundred feet away, but the harbour floor dropped to seventy-five feet there. I wanted to set the sub on the bottom, out of sight, and out of temptation. By the Law of the Sea, a foreign submarine had to stay on the surface inside a country’s three-mile zone. I knew that. But I wasn’t actually leaving the area of the pier I was just submerging within it. I planned to take a longer hike with Hollie, because I wanted to see a little of Australia before we went back to sea, and I wasn’t comfortable leaving the sub where people could climb in and steal stuff, or fiddle around with the controls, or even start the engine and head out to sea. Any sub could become incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. I figured the harbour police would agree with that, and would understand me wanting to hide it because they were the ones who gave me the isolated berth in the first place.
But setting the sub on the bottom was not my favourite thing to do, because it meant I had to open the hatch under water, climb out, shut the hatch, seal it, and swim to the surface. I had done it a number of times before, but it was always unnerving. If I could be as fast as the last time, only a couple of feet of water would enter the sub, and the sump pumps would remove that in less than ten minutes. If something went wrong, and the sub completely flooded, it would probably take an hour for the pumps to empty it. There wasn’t much danger to me climbing out, unless I slipped, fell, and banged my head. But I knew that wouldn’t happen. I was so comfortable under water. I could hold my breath for two minutes when I was calm, and that was plenty of time to seal the hatch and swim to the surface. Climbing into the sub was much harder.
And so, I descended to the bottom and shut everything off, except for the pale blue emergency light that used very little power but let me make my way around inside. I picked up everything off the floor and put it on my bed. I did a double check to make sure the compartments in the stern were sealed, then climbed the ladder, took a few deep breaths, and spun the wheel. I waited until it was completely unsealed before pushing the hatch up and letting the sea flood into the sub. No matter how many times I did this, it was always a shock. On the outside, I was calm, and my movements were quick, careful, and measured. Inside, I always had to fight down a feeling of panic. I pulled myself out against the incredible force of water trying to push me back down. It was so strong! I felt like a rat crawling out of a flooding sewer drain. But once I was out, shutting the hatch was easy. I spun the wheel from the outside, sealed it, and swam to the surface. When I stuck my head out of the water, I saw a yellowish orange streak in the east. The sun had travelled across the desert, and was about to reach the sea. It was time for a seriously long walk.
Hollie greeted me excitedly when I stepped from the water, and, for
“I suppose.”
“And that’s sabotage.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe it’s terrorism.”
“Nah, that’s not terrorism.” Jewels sipped her tea and stared at the periscope, but her eyes were out of focus. Her mind was far away. I might have guessed where.
Chapter Nine
WE WERE UP BEFORE the sun. I took three water bottles, a bag of dog biscuits, my jacket, hat, sunscreen, sleeping mat, one-man tent, two hundred dollars, and squeezed it all into a knapsack. The knapsack hung over one shoulder, and the tool bag hung over the other, criss-crossing my front. I climbed out with Hollie, put him down on the bank with all of the stuff, and told him to wait there. He didn’t like that, but he obeyed me. Then I went back to the sub.
I motored out to the small breakwater that protected the pier. It was just a hundred feet away, but the harbour floor dropped to seventy-five feet there. I wanted to set the sub on the bottom, out of sight, and out of temptation. By the Law of the Sea, a foreign submarine had to stay on the surface inside a country’s three-mile zone. I knew that. But I wasn’t actually leaving the area of the pier I was just submerging within it. I planned to take a longer hike with Hollie, because I wanted to see a little of Australia before we went back to sea, and I wasn’t comfortable leaving the sub where people could climb in and steal stuff, or fiddle around with the controls, or even start the engine and head out to sea. Any sub could become incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. I figured the harbour police would agree with that, and would understand me wanting to hide it because they were the ones who gave me the isolated berth in the first place.
But setting the sub on the bottom was not my favourite thing to do, because it meant I had to open the hatch under water, climb out, shut the hatch, seal it, and swim to the surface. I had done it a number of times before, but it was always unnerving. If I could be as fast as the last time, only a couple of feet of water would enter the sub, and the sump pumps would remove that in less than ten minutes. If something went wrong, and the sub completely flooded, it would probably take an hour for the pumps to empty it. There wasn’t much danger to me climbing out, unless I slipped, fell, and banged my head. But I knew that wouldn’t happen. I was so comfortable under water. I could hold my breath for two minutes when I was calm, and that was plenty of time to seal the hatch and swim to the surface. Climbing into the sub was much harder.
And so, I descended to the bottom and shut everything off, except for the pale blue emergency light that used very little power but let me make my way around inside. I picked up everything off the floor and put it on my bed. I did a double check to make sure the compartments in the stern were sealed, then climbed the ladder, took a few deep breaths, and spun the wheel. I waited until it was completely unsealed before pushing the hatch up and letting the sea flood into the sub. No matter how many times I did this, it was always a shock. On the outside, I was calm, and my movements were quick, careful, and measured. Inside, I always had to fight down a feeling of panic. I pulled myself out against the incredible force of water trying to push me back down. It was so strong! I felt like a rat crawling out of a flooding sewer drain. But once I was out, shutting the hatch was easy. I spun the wheel from the outside, sealed it, and swam to the surface. When I stuck my head out of the water, I saw a yellowish orange streak in the east. The sun had travelled across the desert, and was about to reach the sea. It was time for a seriously long walk.
Hollie greeted me excitedly when I stepped from the water, and, for
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