The Deep

Diving Deep

The two walk down the hall, passing topside workers and a few of the last rotation making their way to the helipad. When the two turn down an empty corridor Kate taps Marcus's shoulder to get his attention.

     "Why did he say that like that?" she asks, as the two turn into an open area with Nautiluses.

     He turns to her and smiles, "That would ruin the surprise." then continues forward past rows of smooth, light grey Nautiluses.

     She smiles back and asks, "So where's the Black Betty?" as he stops at a Jet black Nautilus with a woman in a black dress painted on the front.

     "I love it when things time perfect like that," he says now, smiling ear to ear.

     "Are you sure it's safe taking a Nautilus down?" Kate asks with a worried quiver in her voice.

     "I know you've... I mean I trust you've done this before," she says, catching her words.

     Marcus turns to her, looking nervously from the platform. He jumps off the Nautilus ladder and kisses her.

     She begins panicking, "What are you doing idiot?" she whispers, pushing him away.

     Marcus laughs and points at the cameras over the drop rails.

     "Cameras only do video, and we're in its blind spot," he says, kissing her on the cheek.

     Kate rolls her eyes, "Asshole, you scared the shit out of me." wrapping her arms around him.

     "I know, kinda why I did it." he kisses her again then climbs back on the side.

     Marcus turns around to Kate, still standing on the platform.

     "Are you sure you can handle this?" he asks.

     For a few seconds, Kate nervously looks between him, The Black Betty, and the open ocean.

     "Is..." she says quietly, staring at the water but stopping herself.

     She takes a deep breath and then looks up to him.

     "I'm sure!" she exclaims, exciting Marcus.

     A big smile goes across his face as he turns to load the bags into the interior storage. Instantly her confident smile turns into a nervous one as she looks back at the waves splashing against the opening. She looks back and inspects the Black Betty.

     The slim mini-sub is similar to the other Nautiluses, but visibly a lot older than the other smooth light grey ones hanging from the ceiling over drop tracks. The Black Betty is a visibly more metallic construction and the body was coated with scratches and dents. Not to the point of any real worry, more indentations from rubbing against rocks or coral. The jets were also different from the others, they were a lot larger and shaped more arrow dynamically than the rest. It was like the muscle car of mini-subs.

     Marcus pops his head out the hatch and says, "Alright hop in! I'm just going to do a quick exterior check and hook it up to the crane. I'll join you in a minute or two." as he climbs out and holds his hand out.

     Kate flashes a quick smile and then walks to the side ladder. She grabs his hand as he guides her up and inside the red interior of the Black Betty.

     Kate sits in the second seat and buckles in. There are pictures on the sides and ceiling, most are of the same four people. Marcus, Marcus's mother and father, and a visibly younger woman than Marcus that Kate didn't recognize.

     The six on the ceiling are separated from the others, clearly of more importance than the rest. The first one is the four in an old green convertible Mustang, his mom behind the wheel, and his dad has a big goatee. In the back seat is a much younger Marcus and the girl laughing in paper Burger King crowns. The next picture is of Marcus's mom, smiling in a jungle wearing a Canadian military uniform and holding a big silver knife. Over that photo is one of Marcus in an IRAFT uniform with Chuck and a few other people. Marcus appears to have been the team Marksman, sporting an enormous silver bolt-action rifle and has two big black pistols on his thighs. The next picture is of a teenage Marcus with his dad covered in grease. The two are working on a car in what looks like an old mechanical workshop back when they had people working in them. The last two are the most recent, Marcus and the same girl in most of the pictures on the sides. The second last one is the two smiling in wetsuits with an arm around the other standing in front of the Black Betty being held over the water by a big metal chain.