Read Barracuda for Free Online Page B

busy.”
    “Okay, Dr. Two-Times.”
    “Did I do it again?”
    “Yes, you did. Let’s take a break and feed our
brains.”
    The professor mumbled something unintelligible
but followed James to the elevator. The scientists were on the
fifth floor of the five-story hotel. They had a grand view of the
east side of the atoll and could see clear across to Bikini Island.
The elevator took them to the lobby, and they followed the arrows
to the dining room.
    “This is quite a setup,” James commented. “It
must have taken them a few years to get all this interior and
exterior design together.”
    The professor nodded. “Yes, it’s nice,” he
mumbled. “It would be nicer if there weren’t so many damn Japanese
people around here.”
    James let out an uncomfortable laugh. The
majority of the staff was Japanese, except for the pretty liaison
woman and some of the hotel managers, who appeared to be Russian.
That probably didn’t sit too well with many of the locals. James
made a silent prayer that Dr. Collins didn’t allow his opinionated
sarcasm to cause problems with the hotel staff.
    A nice Japanese waiter seated the two at a
window table and brought a pitcher of ice water. While James read
the dinner menu, Dr. Collins was busy making notations in his
journal. The professor never went anywhere without his beloved
journal.
    “Will you please put that away and start
enjoying yourself, Doctor?” James lamented.
    “We are here on a grant and our mission is quite
clear,” the professor snapped back.
    “You must eat if you want the gray cells to be
active in that mad brain of yours,” James pressed. “It also
wouldn’t hurt if you took the time to stop and smell the roses once
in a while. Just look about you. This is paradise.”
    Dr. Collins looked blankly at his protégée, and
then slowly put his pencil in his shirt pocket and closed his
journal. Looking out the large bay window, he noticed the
magnificent view of lush gardens leading down to the dock. The dive
boats and fishing boats were rocking gently at their moorings as
the setting sun splashed a river of gold and red hues across their
bows. The low cirrus clouds were speckled with the flight of sea
birds returning to their nests.
    The professor’s eyes widened as he took in this
portrait of nature entering its nocturnal state. The golden sun
would fall below the crimson horizon in just a few minutes. A
waiter broke his trance when he asked the pair for their dinner
order.
    Dr. Collins watched the waiter as he left and
saw the regal opulence of the dining hall for the first time. The
hall was littered with ornate pillars and high ceilings. Bright
pastel colors abounded, except for the muted murals that depicted
fishing villages and native life. Centerpieces of fresh flowers
were lavishly placed in an ever-widening circular fashion.
    “Beautiful, isn’t it, Doctor?” James asked.
    “I’ve seen better,” Dr. Collins crackled in
sarcasm.
    James knew that the professor would never admit
when he truly liked something unless it had a dorsal fin and
teeth.
    ***
    “The boat leaves in ten minutes sharp, so get
your gear aboard now,” Steve ordered.
    Steve Crachie was the senior dive master at the
Majuro Majestic, and it was his responsibility to make sure that
the divers stayed safe. Thus, it was his responsibility to get the
divers on board and check their dive gear before allowing them to
dive. He also had to check their scuba diving credentials and make
sure they had the proper safety equipment. Just as important was
making sure that the divers did not touch or remove any dangerous
materials from the shipwrecks. These warships had been sunk fully
armed with weapons containing high explosives. Fifty years of salt
water had slowly deteriorated these weapons, making them quite
unstable. Divers always wanted to retrieve a shell for a souvenir,
but that was like bringing a live hand grenade on board the dive
boat—or worse, back to the hotel. It was Steve’s job