Bane huffed, but his voice stayed calm. “How does he suppose it survived all that time underwater?”
Pete hesitated. “We’re not sure about that yet, but we’ll figure it out. In the meantime, you all have to move away from this area.”
“I just found the galleon,” Leia said. If Pete would listen to anyone, it would be her. “It can’t have anything to do with your site because it’s about two hundred feet down on a shelf. Any surge across the shelf would just send things into the abyss, so the remains can’t be from the area where we’ll be digging.”
Pete’s lips softened. “You actually did it. Too bad Tony isn’t here to see the day.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t change anything. We can’t take the chance. This is really important, Leia. Surely you see that. You too, Bane.”
Bane spoke up. “I understand that, but we’re not harming the bones. There have been earthquakes in the area. The ship’s location is precarious. We may not have much time.” Bane leaned against the rail. “How about if we compromise? We won’t go down unless there is an OHA diver along. He can watch what we’re doing and make sure we’re not hauling out any Hawaiian artifacts. Doing anything to harm our heritage is the last thing we’d want to do. You know that, Pete. It’s important to us too.”
Pete began to shake his head. “Your boss is out to make money, not preserve Hawaiian artifacts. If you two were the only ones involved, it might be different. We’re friends, guys, and I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but I just can’t risk it.”
Bane held out his hand. “Pete, you have my word. We’ll watch the site carefully. The galleon is part of Hawaii’s history too.”
Pete gripped Bane’s hand. “I don’t want to argue with you, Bane. The OHA has already filed, and the court has issued a stop-work order. I’m sorry.”
“Can we go down in the sub and just look at it?”
Pete sighed and shrugged. “As long as that’s all you do. No diving or excavation.” He managed a smile. “You ready for the competition, Bane? I’m going to win this time. I’ve got a real honey of a new ukulele.”
“You just might do that. I haven’t had much time to practice.”
“Don’t try to waffle about it now—when I beat you, I want the full glory.” This time Pete’s grin was full-blown.
Bane grinned too. “I think I’d better get to practicing.”
Leia would never understand men. How could they be at each other’s throats over the dive and then turn around and joke about a competition? She watched Pete turn and go back down the ladder to his boat. Moments later, his engine roared to life, and he putted away with a careless wave at them.
Bane gave a heavy sigh. “I don’t know how I’m going to break this news to Ron.”
The boss was in the equipment room charting the next step. “We’d better tell him.”
Kaia held up her hands. “You two are on your own.”
“Coward,” Leia said.
“You bet. I hate shouting.” Kaia shuddered, then grinned.
Bane scooped up the wadded paper and went toward the door. Leia followed Bane and Ajax to the equipment room. The odor of electronic equipment burned her eyes. This room needed more ventilation. Ron was sitting absorbed in front of a twenty-one-inch flat-screen monitor. He didn’t seem to notice they’d stepped into the room. Another technician sat at a different screen.
“We’ve got trouble, boss.” Bane spread out the crinkled notice. “Read it and weep.”
“What’s this?” Ron frowned, then his gaze finally left the monitor. His gaze skimmed the top of the paper. “From OHA?” He smoothed the paper and began to read. His next breath was a quick intake. “They can’t do this!”
“I think they just did.”
Ron stood and paced the small room. “We have to figure out a way around this. We’re so close. Our luck so far hasn’t been good. First the plane sabotage, and now this.”
“Speaking of the sabotage, what’s the status of that?” Bane asked.
Ron shrugged. “We can’t prove who did it, though we both know it was Westerfield. Since there’s nothing we can do about it, I’m just having the equipment dried out and rebuilt.” He began to reread the notice Bane handed him. He made a sound of disgust.
“We can appeal the decision,” Leia pointed out.
Ron shook his head. “And we will, but with the earthquakes, I doubt we have much time. We need to get on it right away.” He tossed the paper into the chair he’d vacated. “We’ll just pull away from this site. It will take them time to gather together divers for a proper expedition. We can take the minisub in from a distance, get out and do our work, then leave undetected.”