Abduction by Robin Cook Read Free Book Online

Perry witnessed twinkling bursts of muted neon green and yellow sparkles. He asked Suzanne what it was.
"That's bioluminescence," Suzanne said. "Is it the plankton?" Perry asked.
"It could be," Suzanne said. "If so, it would probably be dinoflagellates. Of course, it could also be tiny crustaceans or even fish. I've put a yellow bookmark in the marine life book marking the bioluminescence section."
Perry nodded but made no attempt to pick up the text.

Nice try, Suzanne thought glumly. Her optimism about ensuring Perry's enjoyment sagged appreciably.
" Oceanus, this is Benthic Explorer, " Larry's voice sounded in the acoustic phone speaker. "Suggest a course two hundred and seventy degrees at fifty amps for two minutes." "Roger," Donald said. He quickly made the course adjustment with the joysticks and changed the power output to the propeller to the suggested fifty amps. He then noted the changes on his clipboard. "Larry has plotted our position by tracking our pinger and relating it to the bottom hydrophones," Suzanne explained. "By powering forward while descending we'll reach bottom directly at the well head. It's like we're gliding to the target."
"What will we do until the divers arrive?" Perry asked. "Just sit and twiddle our thumbs?" "Hardly," Suzanne said. She forced another smile along with a shallow laugh. "We'll unload the drill bit from the tray along with the tools we're carrying. Then we'll back off. At that point we'll have about twenty to thirty minutes to explore around the site. That's the part I think you are going to truly enjoy." "I can't wait," Perry said with the kind of sarcasm Suzanne was beginning to dread. "But I don't want you doing anything out of the ordinary on my behalf. I mean, don't try to impress me. I'm already impressed enough."
Suddenly the monotonous pinging of the sonar changed. The sub was nearing the bottom, and the forward short-range sonar had a solid contact. The tiny screen showed the well head and the pipe snaking down from above. Donald jettisoned several of the descent weights and the craft's gliding plunge slowed. He then began a careful adjustment of the variable ballast system to achieve neutral buoyancy. While Donald was busy pumping oil, Suzanne reached behind her and turned on a small CD player. It was part of her master plan. All at once the sound of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring filled the sub's interior. Taking the music as a cue, Donald leaned forward and switched on the outside lights. Perry's eyes widened as he glanced out the view port. The planktonic snow had all but disappeared, and the clarity of the icy water was more than he imagined. He was able to see for several hundred feet, and what he saw left him flabbergasted. He'd expected a flat, featureless plain similar to what the bottom looked like on his dive off Santa Catalina Island. At most he thought he might see a few sea cucumbers. Instead he was gazing at a misty tableau the likes of which he'd never imagined: huge, dark gray, columnar forms with flat tops dotted the landscape, jutting up in a stepwise fashion like the frozen pistons of an enormous engine. The haunting shapes extended out as far as Perry could see. A few long-tailed, big-eyed fish lazily darted in and around them. On some of the rock ledges sea fans and sea whips waved sinuously in the current.
"Good God!" Perry exclaimed. He was mesmerized, especially with the dramatic music in the background.
"Rather exceptional, eh?" Suzanne said. She was encouraged. Perry's reaction to the scenery was his first auspicious response.
"It looks like some ancient temple area," Perry exclaimed. "Like Atlantis," Suzanne suggested. She was intent on milking the situation for all it was worth.

"Yeah!" Perry blurted. "Like Atlantis! Jeez! Can you imagine bringing tourists down here and telling
them that it was Atlantis? What a freaking gold mine this could be." Suzanne cleared her throat. Bringing tourists down to her precious seamount was the last thing