Abaco Gold by Patrick Mansell

Author:Patrick Mansell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2013-12-16T16:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

A Pirate’s Frustration

Skeeter looked up from his position on the safety bar and saw that there was a boat idling next to the barge. He recognized the shape as that of the grey Magnum that had been openly spying on the operation for the past several weeks. He released his grip on the bar and drifted up to the stern of the intruder. From a small tool pack he kept attached to his buoyancy compensator he retrieved a pair of rusty pliers. The Magnum had three engines so he had to work fast. Without breaking the surface he used his pliers to straighten out and remove the cotter pin that held the starboard propeller nut on its shaft. The nut itself was only hand tight, so he turned it counter clockwise until only a single turn of the nut was left before it would be free to fall off. That operation took less than a minute, so he went to work on the center propeller, and then the one on the port side. By the time the other divers had completed their safety stop, Skeeter had rejoined them and climbed aboard the barge. The arrogant occupants of the Magnum were sitting back making it obvious that they had predation on their mind. As Skeeter climbed the dive ladder he turned to the Magnum and gave a crooked smile. “Gentlemen,” he said, “have just a wonderful day.” With that he turned and entered the scuba area of the barge to change tanks and take a rest with his companions.

The fresh water dip tank was a mandatory stop for all of the divers each time they returned from a dive. A thorough rinsing was not a requirement, Skeeter merely wanted the divers to lift their back packs with tanks and regulators into one of the tanks to wash off the salt water from the dive. The scuba equipment was getting an exhausting workout and this procedure was implemented for the purpose of keeping the equipment in good working order and extending its useful life. Abaco Divers had supplied forty tanks, fifteen buoyancy compensators and fifteen regulators to the dive operation, in addition to the ten other dive outfits supplied from the Carson’s and Picus’ private collection. With this much equipment, maintenance was an ongoing project.

Skeeter dipped his gear into the tank on his way back to the rest area of the barge where Max, Jenny, Cameron and Godfrey were assembled. They were drinking water, eating fresh fruit and tending to their physical needs subsequent to the dive. As Skeeter approached, he had a strange but amused look on his face.

Jenny knew Skeeter well by now and noticed the unusual expression on his face. “Are you OK? What are you up to?”

Skeeter’s grin widened. “Watch that boat,” he said nodding in the direction of the Magnum. “I prepared a little surprise for them.” Again he nodded over at the intruder in a disingenuous way.

With that, the driver of the Magnum hit the starters and backed away from the barge.

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