But what is the net caught on? he wondered, seeing Tristan crouching right on the bottom at what looked like a piece of machinery. Winches? Andrew wondered, noting what looked like cable drums and several hand wheels. Definitely man made anyway, he decided.
Andrew was just about to swim down to look when his attention was distracted by cavitation and engine sounds and he looked back over his shoulder and saw the rubber boat returning from the west. Seeing it come to stop reassured Andrew. That was good as it meant he would not have to swim another half a kilometre if he had to surface.
A small anchor splashed into the water and fell to the seabed twenty-five metres away, the nylon rope slithering out behind it. The rubber boat came to a stop about fifty metres to the west, tugging at its anchor against the current.
That was a bit dangerous! Andrew thought irritably. One of us might have been underneath that.
Assuming that Dan had made sure they were safe before he threw the anchor, so Andrew turned his attention back to the net and the machinery it was tangled in.
Or is it? Those look like some sort of straps, he thought.
To add to the puzzle, he saw that a steel rod about three metres high was sticking up out of the seabed in the lee of the mound. Even more puzzling other sets of wires could be seen stretching off across the seabed, one directly under Andrew towards Yule Reef and another opposite it going south across Boat Passage.
What are these wires for? Andrew wondered.
He began swimming over to join Tristan and Carmen. This was hard to do as the current had carried him past the mound and he had to swim hard against it. He knew he had only a few more minutes of safe diving left before he must surface but he wanted to see for himself what this man-made object was.
Splashes back behind him made Andrew glance quickly over his shoulder. He saw it was two more divers entering the water but they did not interest him. Dan and Mr Craig must be coming to have a look, he surmised.
Andrew joined Carmen at the net and she held it up and he saw the query in her eyes. He reached out and felt it. It was nylon and both strong and new, the mesh about fifteen centimetres in size. What on earth would they be trying to catch with a net with a mesh this big? Andrew wondered.
Tristan waved his hand and then pointed down. Andrew turned to look, very aware that he must soon surface.
Whoosh! Bahwhoompf!
Andrew stared in uncomprehending shock as something struck the back of Tristan’s head, resulting in a fizz and sudden eruption of bubbles.
Oh my God! His air tank has exploded! Andrew thought. And then he saw the steel rod and the dark streamers of blood.
It took a few more seconds before the impact of the horror he had just watched sank in. A powerhead, he thought in disbelieving amazement. Powerheads were special explosive tipped spears fired from a speargun. Usually the tip of the spear contained a large calibre rifle bullet: a .308, or a 7.62mm or even larger. They were used against sharks and other large and dangerous marine creatures. And it was obvious from the way Tristan’s arms just flopped and his whole body sagged and began to drift back on the current that he was dead.
An accident? Andrew wondered as sickening emotion began to boil in him.
He knew there were a couple of old spearguns on the dive boat, but he had not seen any powerheads. Half-stunned with shock Andrew noted the look of horror on Carmen’s face and then saw Carmen reach out and grab Tristan by the arm. Then she looked up to where the powerhead had come from and Andrew saw the whites of her eyes as they widened in terror.
Fear then overrode shock and Andrew swivelled to look back up as well. There were three divers there. Close to him was Ella, also staring up at the other two. Both of the other divers were about ten metres above and behind—and both held spearguns.
What the hell? Andrew thought.
His mind raced, trying to work out what Dan and Mr Craig might be up to. Then he realized that both of the other divers were fully clad in black and wore some sort of fully enclosed helmet. And they were not wearing the bright yellow BCDs of the university group. Nor did either have the build of Mr Craig.
What the? Who are these people? Andrew wondered.
Then he saw the closest of the two divers point his speargun at Carmen. As though in a dream Andrew noted that the speargun was of the compressed air type and that it had a double mount. One of the spears was gone but one remained—and it was a powerhead!
He’s going to shoot Carmen! Andrew thought. He could not imagine why but a surge of sheer desperation set him moving rapidly. I must save her, he thought.
He whipped out his diving knife even as his fins began to bite at the water. All he could think to do was swim between Carmen and the man so that is what he tried to do.
Zzzut!
Andrew saw the bubbles spurt and the spear flashed down. It seemed to arrow straight towards him at an appalling speed but at the last moment his mind registered the fact that it would pass just in front of him. He made a desperate lunge with both arms and swept them downwards. The knife in his right hand just clipped the butt of the spear but his left hand actually struck it as it passed.
Did it get her? Andrew thought, anxiety pulsing through him along with the adrenalin.
He turned his head to look and to his intense relief he saw that the spear had just missed. A trail of bubbles led close past Carmen and down to the seabed. There was a distinct whumpf’ and a puff of bubbles and sand on the seabed to mark the spear’s impact. For a moment his eyes locked with hers and he saw the shock, disbelief and horror he was experiencing being mirrored in hers.
Then anger surged as the shock took hold. Bastard! Andrew thought. He has killed Tristan and tried to kill Carmen!
And the man had fired both his spears. Andrew reacted, partly from the surging fury and partly from a coldly rational notion that he must fight to survive. He turned and began swimming towards the man, knife now held at the ready.
Thunk!
Andrew felt the blow and knew instantly that he had been hit. But there was no explosion and even as he turned to look he noted that the second diver had a speargun which used conventional spears.
I’ve been hit! Andrew thought, disbelief and terror both swamping his thoughts and emotions. Fear of death and rising panic at dying underwater, by drowning if not from being impaled, gripped him so strongly that for a few seconds he was quite paralysed.
As he regained thought and movement Andrew groped at his back and found the steel shaft. It had driven in just below his air tank and then angled downwards through his right buttock and across through his right leg to press against his left. Terrified of dying he found his heart racing and realized that he was gulping great lung fulls of air.
Slow down! You will run out of air, he told himself. But new fears were still swamping his consciousness and he had trouble acting on his own advice. I must be bleeding, he thought, groping to find the wounds.
But he could only feel where the spear went into his wetsuit and was unable to reach around to feel the exit. The whole time his eyes were on the man who had shot him, noting that there was a second spear still in the speargun and that it was aimed at him.
I am done for! he thought.
But he wasn’t ready to just give up and ideas of making a last desperate lunge with his knife flashed through his mind. It was only then that he realized that he no longer had the knife. Stupidly he