The Reef

yet . . . “But is it enough, Hayden? Should it be enough? How much are we missing by being up here? Not risking anything, or experiencing the hunt. Not having some claim or control over what we do, and what we discover? Aren’twe in danger of losing the passion that pulled us into this in the first place?”
    “You aren’t.” His heart began to accept what his head had told him all along. She would never be for him. She was an exotic flower to his simple, plodding drone. “You’ll never lose it, because it’s what defines you.”
    In a symbolic farewell to a foolish dream, he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles.
    “Hayden . . .”
    He could read the concern, the regret and, painfully, the sympathy in her eyes. “Don’t worry. Just a token of admiration from colleague to colleague. I have a suspicion we’re not going to be working together much longer.”
    “I haven’t decided,” she said quickly.
    “I think you have.”
    “I have responsibilities here. And I owe you, Hayden, for recommending me for this position.”
    “Your name was already on the list,” he corrected. “I merely agreed with the choice.”
    “But I thought—” Her brow creased.
    “You’ve earned a reputation, Tate.”
    “I appreciate that, Hayden, but . . . Already on the list, you said? Whose list?”
    “Trident’s. The brass there was impressed with your record. Actually, I got the feeling there was some definite pressure to put you on, from one of the moneymen. Not that I wasn’t happy to go along with the recommendation.”
    “I see.” For reasons she couldn’t name, her throat felt dry. “Who would that be, the moneyman?”
    “Like you said, I’m just a dot.” He shrugged his shoulders as he rose. “Anyway, should you decide to resign before the expedition is finished, I’d be sorry to lose you, but it’s your choice.”
    “You’re getting ahead of me.” It made her nervous to realize she’d been singled out somehow, but she smiled at Hayden. “But thanks.”
    When he left her, she rubbed her hands over her mouth. Where had this spooky feeling come from? she wondered. Why hadn’t she known about a list, or that her name had been on it?
    Turning to her monitor, she clattered keys, eyes narrowed on the screen. Trident, Hayden had said. So she would by-pass Poseidon and SeaSearch for the moment. To find where the power was at any level, you looked for the money.
    “Hey, friends and neighbors.” Bowers strolled in, gnawing on a chicken leg. “Lunch is up, in more ways than one.” He wiggled his brows at Tate and waited for her to chuckle.
    “Give me a hand here, Bowers.”
    “Sure, sweet thing. My hand is your hand.”
    “Just work your magic on the computer. I want to find out who the big backers are in Trident.”
    “Going to write thank-you notes?” Setting his lunch aside, he wiped his hands on his shirtfront and started in.
    “Hmm . . . a lot of layers here,” he murmured after a moment. “Good thing I’m the best. You’re hooked up to the main here, so the data we need’s in there somewhere. Always is. You want board of directors, or what?”
    “No,” she said slowly. “Forget that. Ownership of the Nomad, Bowers, under the corporation. Who owns the ship?”
    “Ownership shouldn’t be tough to find. Not with your friendly technology. SeaSearch owns it, baby. Hold on . . . donated. God, I love philanthropists. Some cat named VanDyke.”
    Tate stared at the screen. “Silas VanDyke.”
    “He’s a big wheel and a big deal. You musta heard of him. Finances a lot of expeditions. We ought to give the man a big, sloppy kiss.” His grin faded when he looked down at Tate’s face. “What’s up?”
    “I am.” She gritted her teeth against the fury. “That son of a bitch put me on here. That . . . Well, I’m taking myself off.”
    “Off?” Baffled, Bowers stared at her. “Off what?”
    “He thought he could use me.” Almost blind with temper, she stared at the artifacts carefully arranged on her worktable. David and Elizabeth’s watch. “For this. The hell with him.”
     
    Matthew hung up the phone, picked up his coffee. Another bridge burned, he thought. Or maybe, just maybe, the first couple of planks set in place on a new one.
    He was sailing for Hatteras in the morning.
    If nothing else, he mused, it would be a good test of the Mermaid ’s seaworthiness.
    The boat was finished, painted, polished and named. He and LaRue had taken her