Read Savage Bay for Free Online Page A

everyone,” said Hawkeye.   
    High overhead, an early Soviet satellite hung from nearly invisible wires. A fully-articulated pterodactyl skeleton spread its wings above a suspended glass platform arranged as a seating area with overstuffed wing chairs and a dark leather couch.
    Everywhere Cruz looked, another treasure seized her attention: a leather-bound tome gilded in gold and rubies; an enormous Mayan stellae carved with intricate glyphs.
    Cruz was amazed to see the intact bow section of a Spanish galleon, complete with corroded iron cannons and a winged mermaid on the ship’s prow.
    “That ship you’re admiring is the original Alamiranta ,” said a female voice.
     Catherine Caine stood on a suspended glass platform overlooking the Gallery. She was tall and exotically attractive, with dark eyes and a slender, shapely build. Shadows played across the angular planes of her face. Her hair was blond and stylishly cut.
    “In 1751, a convoy of Spanish galleons sailed from Cuba loaded with gold and silver,” said Caine. “The Alamiranta was their flagship. They sailed up the east coast of Florida bound for Spain, but were caught in a hurricane. All seven ships were lost at sea.”
    Caine continued her story as she walked down the steps of the Savorski crystal staircase connecting the floating platform with the main level of the Gallery.
    “I hired the best historians from around the world to comb through the historical record. I outfitted a ship with the most advanced technology available and assembled a team of world-class divers.  In six months, we did what no one had been able to accomplish in the last three hundred years.”
    She paused.
    “We discovered the wreck of the Alamiranta fourteen miles off the coast of south Florida. We found four other galleons from the fleet within a half-kilometer radius. The gold and silver we recovered was worth over 400 million Euros. I used a portion of the profits to retrofit this ship, the headquarters of the Caine companies. It seemed only fitting to christen her the Alamiranta .”
    Cruz just nodded. In Catherine Caine’s commanding presence, she had difficulty forming words.
    Caine reached the bottom of the stairway and joined Hawkeye and Cruz near the center of the Gallery.  
    “You know who I am?” Caine asked.
    “Yes, of course,” said Cruz.
    Caine fixed her with a serious look. “I have a problem. A rather serious problem. That’s why you’re here.”
    Cruz finally found her voice. “What is it that I can do for you?” she asked.
    It was difficult for Cruz to imagine any reason why Caine would take the extreme step of snatching her off the street in such dramatic fashion. After all, Caine had virtually limitless resources at her disposal. What could Cruz offer that Caine could not obtain elsewhere? 
    “You were one of the lead engineers on the Savage Bay project on Es Vedra Island, were you not?  I speak of the conversion of the former submarine base into the Triad Genomics research facility.”
    “I was one of the primary engineers, yes. I was with the project from the beginning. Until it was completed, in fact.”
    Caine nodded. She thought for a moment.
    “Ms. Cruz, you have unique knowledge of the design and engineering of the facility. And I have a problem that requires your expertise. About six hours ago, we lost contact with the Savage Bay facility.”
    “Lost contact?”
    “All communications abruptly ceased,” she said. “Under normal circumstances, we can monitor telephone and internet communications from Savage Bay from the Operations Center here onboard the Alamiranta . We should have complete access to the facility’s systems and computer network. But Savage Bay has gone completely offline. It’s like a digital black hole. We have had zero contact with the facility for nearly four hours.”
    “I hate to even suggest this, but perhaps there was some type of industrial accident,” Cruz ventured.
    “There’s no evidence to suggest an