Phantom Prospect. Alex Archer

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СКАЧАТЬ how intelligent these fish are.”

      “Can you blame them?”

      “No, not when they’ve been exposed to so much fallacy. But if people knew how close they swim in proximity to these fish without ever being attacked, I think that would go far toward raising people’s consciousness.”

      “You won’t change opinions overnight.”

      “No, I suppose not. But we can expose people through research. Look at what we accomplished today, for instance. I got you to change your mind about them, didn’t I?”

      “Somewhat. I’m still terrified,” Annja said.

      Cole patted her arm. “No worries. We’ll have you free swimming with them soon enough.”

      Annja shook her head. “There is no way in hell I will ever do that, pal. Put that one out of your mind right now.”

      Cole laughed. “Okay, okay. Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

      “Weren’t you scared?”

      “Absolutely. But this is the fourth time I’ve done it. The first was really terrifying. But when you get out there and touch them—”

      “Touch them!”

      “I give them a pat every now and again. I can grab their dorsal fins for a ride once in a while, as well.”

      “Good God.”

      “Once you do that,” Cole said, “it just becomes this marvelous experience. I can’t explain it without you doing it.”

      Annja nodded. “Yeah, well, that will have to be one experience I don’t go through.”

      Tom called down from the wheelhouse. “We set to go?”

      Cole nodded. “Fire ’er up.”

      The engines on the boat kicked into gear and the water behind churned into a frothy white of sea and spray. Wind blew through Annja’s hair, drying it as she held on while the research vessel skipped over the waves back toward shore.

      Cole busied himself jotting down notes on his observations. Annja went inside the cabin and changed back into her clothes. When she reemerged, Cole was still making notes. He glanced up at her.

      “How about dinner tonight? I know a little Italian place with a fantastic wine selection and a veal cutlet to die for.”

      Annja nodded. “I’m starving, actually.”

      Cole finished his notes. “Great, I’ll go make the call.”

      Annja followed him into the wheelhouse. Tom stood behind the wheel. He looked a lot younger than his twenty-four years. Fresh out of college with a degree in marine biology, Cole had scooped him up as his assistant and they’d been fast friends ever since. He smiled at Annja as she came in. “Feeling a bit more human again?”

      “I need a shower to do that,” Annja said. “This salt water is probably not doing wonders for my hair.”

      “Looks fine to me.”

      Cole elbowed him. “Mind your manners, boy.”

      Tom chuckled. “Why would I let the old guy have all the fun?”

      “Old guy? I’ll have you know I don’t turn forty for another year yet.” Cole grabbed the ship phone and dialed into Montauk. He spoke for a moment and then hung up. “All set. Reservations for seven o’clock. That should give you enough time to grab a shower and change into something that will make me drool.”

      Annja punched him in the stomach. “Watch it, pal. I might get the impression all of this was done just to woo me, instead of in the name of science and the betterment of humankind.”

      Cole held up his hands. “Oh, hey, it’s definitely for the betterment of humankind. I’m just starting out with me first.”

      Tom shook his head. “You know he’s incorrigible, right?”

      “Apparently,” Annja said. She walked back into the main cabin and slid into the booth. Cole came in a second later and sat down across from her.

      “I’m really glad you came out here, Annja.”

      “Me, too.”

      Cole leaned back. “The great whites we have access to here are among the largest in the world. They feed in the deep waters and it always astounds me how big they are.”

      “What’s the biggest one ever caught?”

      “You’d have to go back,” Cole said. “There have been claims of thirty to forty feet about a hundred years back. Nowadays, it’s rare you see one over twenty feet in length.”

      “That’s still three times bigger than a full-grown man. Plenty of room to fit in the belly, huh?”

      “That’s nothing compared to the long-lost ancestor of great whites, the megalodon. Now that was something to behold.”

      “Why’s that?”

      “It was at least forty feet long when it cruised the prehistoric seas. Its teeth were as big as your hand with the same deadly serrations as great whites. Terrifying in its destructive power.”

      “Glad they’re not around anymore.”

      Cole frowned. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

      Annja smirked. “C’mon. They died out ages ago. There’s no way they could survive in today’s oceans.”

      “Why not?”

      Annja stopped. “Wouldn’t someone have seen one by now?”

      Cole shook his head. “Not necessarily. You know what’s amazing about the oceans? Every year we find new species of fish or rediscover species we thought had long since died out. The depths that we are able to gain access to through advances in technology are enormous. We can’t swim miles below the surface, but the robots we’ve built that have journeyed there have recorded a fascinating world.”

      “But giant sharks?”

      Cole leaned forward. “Take the giant squid. For years, people swore it couldn’t exist. We had corpses wash up on shores or sometimes get caught in fishing nets, but never found a live specimen. And then that Japanese team got the first video footage of it swimming in the silent depths. And we know that sperm whales love to eat those things.”

      “And you think that somewhere out there a megalodon could be swimming around?”

      “Why not? We don’t know everything and, sometimes, even the most implausible ideas turn out to be true.”

      Annja shrugged. “I guess. I just can’t see it. I mean, a meg swimming out there would need to feast on a lot to sustain it, wouldn’t it? So, I guess my question would be, if it’s not extinct, then what is it eating?”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ