Tony dropped the bag he caught. “You’ll make it, Jermaine.”
Shaina Levy stepped aboard the boat. Her red hair stuck out around her head like a Brillo pad. “Tony has inspired all of us to follow our dreams. When I get home, I’m going to move to L.A. and get my design business growing. This time away has been good for all of us.” She sent a flirtatious glance Tony’s way, but he ignored her. Her smile faded, and she bent to rummage in her bag.
Rae and Eric Jardin, a couple in their fifties from Indiana, both nodded at Shaina’s words. “We just bought a house here, and Eric is going to open a business in town. Tony has promised to send some clients our way.”
Bane grinned. “You try to make out you’re a tough guy, Tony, but that mask never holds. You should just give it up and show your soft side all the time.”
“Shut up and get in the boat,” Tony growled.
Bane chuckled and hopped aboard the forty-six-foot custom-made boat, Mermaid, and they headed out to sea.
About an hour later Bane pointed off the bow. “This is close to where my plane went in,” Bane said as the boat slowed. “I want to take a look here.”
Tony nodded. “If it’s here, you’re in luck. Out beyond here, there’s only blue hole.” He instructed the divers to prepare to dive, and the men and women began to shrug into their buoyancy com-pensators and tanks. One by one, they began to jump into the water.
Bane adjusted his BC, then bit down on his mouthpiece and dropped into the water. The whitecaps caressed him with warm, silken fingers. A brilliant kaleidoscope of fish darted past his mask—butterfly fish chased by yellow tangs, then followed by a flurry of rainbow wrasses. The whirl of color and movement disoriented him for a moment, and he paused, moving his fins slowly in the current as he regained his equilibrium.
Eva swam with him as his buddy. Her eyes were wide with joy behind her mask. It had taken Bane weeks to teach her how to breathe properly with the regulator, but every hour had been worth it to see the pleasure in her face. Bane winked at her, and she winked back, batting both eyes in an awkward imitation. He took her hand, and they followed the line down toward several figures he could see moving along the colonies of lobe coral.
Leia swam past him in leisurely movements to join Tony. The two had buddied up. The pressure built in Bane’s ears, and he blew to relieve it. He kicked his fins and dove deeper, checking his gauge as he went down to a hundred feet. Still no sign of his plane. The others were above him at about sixty feet as they explored a coral bed. He tried to stifle his disappointment. It had been a shot in the dark anyway. The ocean was a big haystack, and he was looking for a needle. He and Eva explored for about fifteen minutes before moving to rejoin the group.
He caught a movement out of the side of his mask. Turning his head, he saw a figure shooting to the surface like a torpedo from a submarine. Too fast. The man zoomed up without a pause to decompress. Bane caught a glimpse of his face. Tony. Bane looked around for Leia and found her fifteen yards away. Still holding Eva’s hand, he swam to her side and pointed up urgently. She glanced up and saw Tony still shooting up to the surface like a buoy. Her eyes widened. She began to swim up with him. The three of them followed as fast as they dared, pausing occasionally to allow themselves to decompress.
As he neared the surface, he saw Tony floating motionless in the water. Bane put on a burst of speed, kicking out with his fins. As his head broke the surface of the water, his hand touched Tony’s arm. It was flaccid. Leia was right behind him. He spit out his regulator. Tony was floating facedown. Bane rolled him over, his hope plummeting as he saw the blood that bubbled from his nose and mouth. “Tony?” he gasped. He grabbed Tony’s limp body and towed him toward the boat. Leia had Tony’s other arm, and Eva trailed behind them. He could see Candace sitting on deck braiding her hair. She hadn’t noticed her husband was in trouble.
“Help us!” Bane shouted at her. She turned her head then sprang to her feet. “It’s Tony.”
“Tony?” Her mouth gaped, and she put her hand up to cover it.
“Hurry,” Bane panted. A wave slapped him in the face, and the salty spray filled his mouth.
Candace came partway down the steps and grabbed Tony’s arm. “Tony,” she cried as they hauled him onboard. “What’s wrong with him? He has to be okay.” She crouched by his side and touched his face.