Alaskan Mountain Pursuit Elizabeth Goddard (best short novels .TXT) 📖

it’s easy to see how it could happen. Even experienced as he was, he somehow got trapped in the sunken vessel, and the other divers couldn’t find him at first. You can’t see your hand, barely a flashlight, in front of your face at that depth. When they found him it was too late. What I can’t figure is how someone could be down there in the deep, just to help others and end up dying, too. It doesn’t make sense. I never wanted to get in the water again. My only use for it is to land my seaplane.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Sometimes we can do everything right and people still die.”

He didn’t want to think about those words with what they were about to face. “We need to talk about this.”

“You mean, what it will be like if we actually find the plane? I’ve been on recoveries, Will, but I admit, the thought of finding my mother twists my insides. When I determined to find the plane, I hadn’t any intention of getting closer, only to note the location and report it to the authorities. But then Diverman showed up and changed my game plans. Are you going to be able to handle this?”

“Are you?” he asked. “We’re going in for one thing only. The thumb drive that will bring justice for our mothers and end the threat on your life. Our lives. Let’s agree that we won’t look at the bodies. We’ll get the drive and get out.”

“And get as far away as we can from this place. I don’t want to face off with Diverman or his accomplice again. The next time I see him, I want him and Rifleman to be in a lineup.”

Sylvie directed him to where she’d anchored before. They would start there in their search. She checked their tanks and equipment while Will secured the boat. She then gave him a quick review to refresh his skills.

Where was their backup? If anything happened to Sylvie, they would never forgive Will. Not that that would matter. He would likely be dead already because he would give his life to make sure that Sylvie lived. After they layered and geared up to look like aliens, they hung over the port gunwale, ready to drop backward into the water.

This was the only reason he would ever dive again.

He had to make sure that Sylvie lived.

Despite her experience, Sylvie had never been more nervous in her life. She readied the mask, holding it over her head, and eyed Will, searching for any sign of fear in his warm eyes. Any reason at all to object to him coming along. He’d already donned his mask and watched her.

“Ready?” she asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” He winked then thrust the regulator into his mouth before rolling back into the cold water.

Once she joined him, she watched him for signs of panic then gave him a thumbs-up. He reciprocated. From here on out, they’d have to communicate with hand signals. She dove beneath the surface and flutter-kicked. The water was only about twenty feet deep here but would get deeper. She was aware of the currents and underwater topography in the area.

Will was next to her, and it felt good and right. Side by side they headed toward the place where she’d seen the glint of metal, what could have been the lost plane.

Or part of it. Sylvie’s heart jumped. She didn’t like to think about what they might find. She’d been on enough tragic recoveries. Some couldn’t stomach it.

Visibility was between thirty and forty feet. She would have preferred eighty but not the colder waters of winter that would provide it. Following the same path she’d taken the first time, she pushed them north from the island, searching for the remnants of that shipwreck turned artificial reef. It was just beyond that reef where she’d seen the glint.

The reef came into view. She lingered there for a moment so she and Will could take in the abundance of sea creatures, starfish and anemones. Will pointed at the giant tube worms. Sylvie wished this could have been a joy dive with Will, exploring the sea life for the simple pleasure of it. She doubted she could ever get Will to join her for something like that. It cost him to come with her as it was.

Their relationship had been forged out of necessity and a common goal. Should she even call it a relationship? Why was she thinking about a long-term future with Will? She shook off the thoughts and surged ahead, but then slowed and turned to check on him. She couldn’t forget he hadn’t been diving in too many years. Common sense, along with her years as an instructor, warned her he shouldn’t be in the water with her. But technically, she could offer no reason, even though there was a great abyss between certified and prepared. He was certified, and that was that.

She had to stop thinking about him and focus on the area she thought she’d spotted part of a plane.

And there it was...the wing of a small plane. Sylvie almost gasped at the sight.

Breathe. Steady and even.

Will’s eyes grew wide. Did he recognize the wing? Could this be part of the plane that went down?

He swam closer to examine it. When he glanced back at her, his features were grim behind the mask. He gave a subtle nod. Sylvie took that to mean that this could be the wing from his mother’s plane. So it had broken apart on impact? Or...had there been an explosion? Was that what caused the crash?

Sylvie couldn’t stand to think of that possibility, or of what they might find.

Of what they wouldn’t find.

The wing was here, but the plane could be much farther, and could be spread in pieces. She would look for a scatter pattern. If the fuselage wasn’t intact, that meant they might never find the bodies.

Or the thumb drive.

Her heart rate accelerated. Maybe she wasn’t