Chapter 21
The Widow
Parking behind Scott’s truck, I turn off the engine and sit with my thoughts.
As an orphan, I learned early on not to let my emotions control me. Anger. Fear. Sadness. Controlling them has been my key to survival. Nothing good ever comes from committing to an action while you’re emotional. Expectations are also dangerous.
People will always disappoint you.
Hyperthermia.
As soon as I’d gotten the call from Maddie, I’d rushed to the inn.
Finn almost got everyone killed.
I’d given him the benefit of the doubt and trusted his initial kindness. The arrogant piece of shit nearly got the man I love killed—again.
Natalie has her father back. And Nathan and I have spent some of the best nights of our lives together. Not only are our nightly photo sessions bringing his memories back, piece by piece, but we’re also discovering a connection that’s even deeper.
There’s nothing like knowing—really knowing—what you have to lose and how quickly you can lose it to put things in perspective.
If there’s anything left of Finn when I get inside…
My phone rings. My boss.
He’s pausing our daily sample captures and all other diving activity. Fourteen more residents were admitted to the hospital for toxin exposure and jellyfish stings. He’s handing the reins over to the Feds. Consultation and analysis for us only.
NOAA has escalated this as an environmental emergency.
A cold fear brushes over my skin. The Navy and DARPA are involved now. It’s that serious. I respect authority, but I’m worried.
“Do you have any idea where Finn is?” my boss asks. “The mayor’s team has been trying to get him on the phone all day.”
They don’t know that Finn’s been at the hospital all afternoon, along with Nathan and Margaret, being treated for hyperthermia.
“He’s here at the Driftwood,” I say and leave it at that. I’ll let Finn explain his own shit to them.
I take a breath and try to calm down, then I walk to the inn.
It’s silent inside. I smell the remnants of dinner—fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Takeout boxes are stacked in the kitchen trash can.
Where is everyone?
I know Maddie and Ms. Connor are at the beach house with the kids, but Scott has been staying over here every night along with his crew so they can work around the clock and consult with Garrett and Finn. They’re using it as an operational base camp.
The back door is open. I step out onto the porch.
There they are. Gathered around the pool, talking in low voices.
Finn is wrung out on a chair, eyes half-closed, with a towel around his neck. I don’t care that he looks half dead. He’s going to get a piece of my mind. I walk straight to him. Startled, his shoulders pull back.
“You could have killed them.”
He looks at the ground. “I know,” he says, his voice a rasp. “At the time, I thought we could manage it. It was the wrong call. I’m sorry.”
I stare at him, my blood hot.
Nathan walks up to me and gently puts his hand on my back as he leans in.
“Crystal, he knows it was a mistake. We’re okay now.”
I look at him. My Nathan. His face is washed out with large, puffy eyes and dry lips. The skin on his neck is still patchy with large, sickening blotches. Finn and Margaret look similarly ragged.
I’m so pissed.
They all need to rest. Not be out here planning to put themselves in danger all over again.
“Can we talk?” I ask Nathan, pointing to the back door.
Back in the kitchen, I face him.
“Nathan, I thought I could do this.” I can’t keep still, shifting my feet.
“Accept who you are, but…” I swallow tears that are already in my voice.
“I can’t lose you again.” I let the tears flow.
I hate myself for this. I know I’m adding another burden to his shoulders, but this is self-preservation, and I have to protect Natalie’s heart just as much as mine.
“I know this is bad,” he says.
He holds the back of his neck and squeezes his brows. I can’t let him do this. Not again.
“Please. Just don’t go back. Don’t do this right now. Think of Natalie.”
“Crystal—”
“I wanted to be strong. But I’m not.”
He stares at the floor.
Guilt and anger consume me at the same time. Why can’t he just choose us?
“They need all the help they can get, and this is important.” He gently cups my shoulders. “I can help.” He closes his eyes, as if it hurts him to ask me this. “Please don’t ask me to abandon them.”
Damn him for being honorable. Damn him for thinking he can do anything.
“Nathan, please.” I hate myself for begging.
He says nothing. His body rigid, his eyes fixed to the floor. He’s not going to listen to me. He’s going to dive no matter what. What did I expect? He’s the same man.
Jamie walks in and stops when he sees us. His smile is tight, apologetic.
“Sorry to interrupt you guys. We’re about to start the debrief.”
Nathan looks up at me, his eyes a question.
“We’ll be right out,” I say. Not sure what else to do right now, I hold Nathan’s hand and we walk back outside. The briefing’s already underway.
I’ve got a decision to make, but I’ll sit on it.
“The water is getting too hot for standard methods of cave diving,” Finn says.
He’s drawing shallow, uneven breaths as he lies back on the lounge chair, his fingers tightly gripping the notes in his hand.
“You think?” Jamie mutters under his breath.
“Do you need some water?” I ask Finn.
He shakes his head no.
“To continue exploring the system, we’re going to need alternatives. Unfortunately, exposure suits and atmospheric diving suits won’t work in this situation,” Finn says.
“What about ROVs and AUVs?” Margaret asks. “Those are used to explore hydrothermal vents. The small ones can fit in the caves.”
“Remotely operated vehicles are a logical first choice, but those will only get us so far. Their lack of dexterity is less than ideal in a constricted environment like caves. They’ll be clumsy, and with their tethers, we’ll probably lose more of them than we’ll gain distance. Autonomous vehicles aren’t any better.”
“So, what’s your solution?” I snap. I’m not sure what the others are thinking, but the last thing I want to hear about is all the things he already knows won’t work.
“To reach the heat source at the speed we’ll need, we need a different suit. Fortunately, one already exists.”
Everyone looks at each other. Confused but curious.
“I just had a quick word with Navy and DARPA officials a few minutes ago. There’s no holding them off now—they’re already on their way. The good news is they have exactly what we need, and I’ve worked with them before.”
“As a JASON,” I blurt. He looks my way, amused.
“What’s a JASON?” Jamie asks what everyone else is thinking.
“Ask him.” I snap my shoulder toward Finn.
“JASON is a scientific advisory group of which I’m a part. I know you won’t believe me, Crystal. You’ve been wary of me since you met me. But they’ve got nothing to do with why I’m here. And until now, neither did the government. I swear it.”
“Right.” I stare.
“The Navy. DARPA. They trust my judgment, and they’re involved now.
My history with them gives us a measure of influence over decisions.
We need that. Because now that this is being treated as a potential national security matter, there will be no shortage of ideas on how to handle it.
Some of them will do more harm than good. ”
“Since when does the military care about coral reefs?” I ask.
“What they care about is there’s something heating the water that they don’t understand.” He breaks off, coughing uncontrollably.
I glare at him.
But then I can’t help but feel sorry for him. He’s sick, and I do believe he’s sincerely sorry. It doesn’t make him any less dangerous, though.
Jamie throws him a water bottle. He takes a few rapid swallows.
“Tell us more about the suits,” Nathan says, putting his arm around me. He’s trying to dampen down his excitement, but it’s not working. He’s like a kid in a toy store.
Clearing his throat, Finn continues. “For years, DARPA engineers have been developing specialized dive equipment built for thermal-gradient protection in underwater environments where a diver has to operate in confined spaces and extreme heat.”
Another round of coughing and a swig of water.
“The suit’s unofficial name is Dante’s Shield. The prototype has completed testing, and additional units have been produced. These shields provide divers protection in thermal extremes.”
Diving with heat shields. Everyone looks around at one another. Some with excitement. Me with dread.
“Damn. It’s seaQuest!” Jamie shouts, grinning ear to ear. Most of the guys join in. Even Margaret and Sid geek out.
Finn continues. “In theory, the Shield can withstand temperatures of up to eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit.”
Silence.
“Sounds like a solution to me,” Nathan says.
There’s going to be no stopping him now.
“Wait… did you miss the in theory part?” Jamie asks Nathan.
“Right,” Finn continues. “Let’s discuss the limitations. Once activated, the heat protection lasts roughly fifty-five minutes. Give or take. When the coolant’s gone, it’s gone. Failure is virtually immediate. There’s little warning.”
“How much time?” Nathan asks.
Finn shrugs. “Maybe a few seconds?”
“Enough time to know you’re gonna die,” Jamie says grimly.
Oh God. Someone’s got to stop this. There’s got to be some other way.
Scott, who’s been quietly listening, asks. “Where are these magic suits, and who’s going to be using them?” His face is stoic and calm. The way he usually looks before he loses it.
“The Navy SEALs are bringing them. They’re all trained on the suits—but I’ve confirmed—none have cave diving experience.”
“So, you’re going to have untrained men down there navigating an unexplored cave environment in deadly conditions?” Scott raises his brows, still calm for now.
“That’s the question, isn’t it? Do we train them to cave dive, or do they train us on how to use the suit? The suit’s the simpler option. It’ll take a day for us—if that. Getting the commander on board will be our challenge.”
“Finn, let’s be clear about something. I will not experiment with my team’s lives. Only when we have clear facts in front of us and come up with a sound dive plan that assures everyone makes it out safely will I consider it… Or we don’t dive.”
“That’s reasonable. I’ll ensure…”
“Stand up,” Scott says.
Finn looks confused but stands.
Scott steps directly in front of him and fixes him with a hard stare. “I don’t like you. And I don’t trust you.”
“I’ll own that. But we don’t have any other options—at least none we’re prepared to entertain.”
Staring for a few beats more, Scott walks back to Margaret. Finn stumbles back down to the lounge.
“Okay, I have one more question for now,” Scott says.
“What the fuck is anyone who gets down there supposed to do? You’ve got no clue what the hell this even is. And you expect we’re going to figure that out on the fly when we’re down there. With a ticking clock? Make this make sense.”
“You’re quite right. This will require a series of incremental dives for discovery and analysis, all within a tight timeframe. I recognize the risk and the uncertainty. But again… what alternative do we have?”
“Finn, when do they get here?” Nathan asks.
“The suits? Two days. But Commander Nicolaus is already here. I’ll introduce you in the morning. On my ship.”
After the dive meeting wraps up and Nathan and I gather our things, Finn walks up to me.
“May I have a moment?”
I glance at Nathan, then back at Finn. “Make it short. I need to get Nathan home.” I follow him to a quiet corner in the garden.
“I’m sincerely sorry for putting Nathan’s and Margaret’s lives at risk today,” he says, his voice still hoarse and raspy. “You must hate me, and I don’t blame you. But your opinion actually matters to me.”
I meet his eyes. “I thought you were smart.”
“I am smart.” He exhales slowly. “But sometimes that’s the problem, isn’t it? When you know so much, you start to think you know best. That’s a fallacy.” His jaw tightens. “This is the second time I’ve made that mistake, and the last time—”
He removes his glasses and squeezes his eyes shut. A couple of tears silently streak down his face.
“It didn’t end well.”
“What happened?” I ask softly.
“I was overseeing an LTF,” he says. “A thermal mechanical stress test on a new composite material. We were pushing it to failure.” His gaze drifts past me, unfocused.
“We were almost finished. Very close to the upper limits. I only needed a couple more minutes to finish collecting the data we were after.”
His fingers close harder around his glasses. “Alfred detected a minor fluctuation in the readings. Nothing immediately alarming. Most likely an anomaly.” His mouth twists. “I decided it was noise and made the call to finish.”
He returns his gaze to mine. “Less than a minute later, a containment unit failed. It released the stored pressure and heat. Not an explosion,” he says quietly. “But fatal to anyone standing nearby.”
“Alfred was the closest,” Finn says. “His death was instant.”
I study his face. Grief etched into the corners. And his hands are trembling. There’s a hollow wound inside this man—an empty space. From his failure or his loss, I’m not entirely sure.
“It’s one thing to take risks with your own life,” he continues. “It’s another to make the call for others. They deserve a say in what risks they’re willing to take.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. But it doesn’t seem like you’ve really learned anything from it.”
“Today reminded me.”
“So then, what are you going to do about it now?”
“I can’t promise it won’t be dangerous. But I promise to dive the plan.”