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to garner sufficient funds from a successful haul here to clear his debts, with a stash left over to finance a lifetime of treasure hunting.
    That is, if the Kochi Maru ’s manifests were accurate….
    Jack ignored caution and obeyed his heart. He shoved both foot pedals. The submersible dove in a tight spiral down toward the broken stern of the Kochi Maru . What would it hurt to take a fast peek?
    The temperature gauge began to climb again: 110…120…130…
    He stopped looking.
    â€œJack…the readings…”
    â€œI know. I’m just going to take a closer look at the ship. No risks.”
    â€œAt least replace your Bio-Sensor clip so I can monitor you.”
    Jack wiped sweat from his eyes and sighed. “Okay, Mother.” He slipped the sensor to his earlobe. “Happy now?”
    â€œEcstatic. Now don’t kill yourself.”
    Jack heard the worry behind her light words. “Just keep one of those Heinekens in the cooler for me.”
    â€œWill do.”
    As he neared the seabed, Jack lowered the sub behind the wreck’s stern and edged toward the open rear hold. The giant prop and screw dwarfed his vehicle. Even here life thrived. The old hull, draped in runnels of rust, had become an artificial reef for mussels and coral.
    Clearing the keel, he spun the sub and aimed his lights into the hold. He glanced at the temperature reading. One forty . At least the rising heat had stabilized in the shadow of the ship’s bulk. Beyond the dark ship, the seas radiated a fierce crimson, as if an abysmal sun were rising nearby. Jack ignored the heat, his back and seat now slick in his neoprenesuit.
    Lifting the sub’s nose, he pointed the xenon lamps into the heart of the dark hold. Two large eyes glared back at him from the hold’s cavern.
    His heart jumped. “What the hell…?”
    Then the monster was upon him. It sprang out of its man-made den. Long, sinuous, silver. The sea serpent shot toward him. Mouth open in a silent scream of rage.
    Jack gasped, scrambling for the controls to the sub’s hydraulic manipulator arms. He waved the titanium arms, trying to defend himself, but mostly just flailing in his shock.
    At the last moment the creature shied from his frantic waving and flashed past him. Jack watched its long silver-scaled body rush past like a sinewy locomotive. It had to be at least seventy feet long. His tiny craft was buffeted by the creature’s passage, spinning in place.
    Jack craned his neck around and watched the creature flee, disappearing into the midnight waters with a flick of its tapering tail. Now he recognized it for what it was. A rare beast, but no serpent. It had clearly been as spooked by the chance encounter as he was. Jack forced his heart out of his throat, swallowing hard. “Goddamn!” he swore as he stabilized the sub, spinning in the creature’s wake. “Whoever said there are no sea monsters?”
    Static rasped in his ear. “Sea monsters?” It was Lisa again.
    â€œAn orefish,” he explained.
    â€œGod, your heart rate almost doubled! You must have—”
    A new voice interrupted the doctor. It was Robert Bonaczek, the group’s marine biologist. “An orefish? Regalecus glesne ?” he asked, using the fish’s Latin name. “Are you sure?”
    â€œYep, a big one. Seventy feet if it’s an inch.”
    â€œDid you get any pictures?”
    Jack blushed, remembering his panic. As a former Navy SEAL, he knew his response to being attacked by a deep-sea monster had been less than heroic. He wiped his damp forehead. “No…uh, there was not enough time.”
    â€œA shame. So little is known. No one suspected theylived so deep.”
    â€œWell, this one was living large, that’s for damn sure. Made its home in the hold of the wreck.” Jack moved his ship forward, lights again delving into the interior. Crates lay stacked and broken everywhere. The