Helllo everyone, I’am happy that you decided to try my new book. I have to say a few thing before reading. First I do not support any extreme Ideologies or groups. I condemn what the Nazis did and this book shouldn’t glorify it. Rember this is just fiction.
With that said, I wish you a good reading experience.
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Paul looked at his phone, it said 10:30 p.m.
He sighed.
"Another unfruitful day of searching for the impossible," he thought to himself while taking his coat from his chair.
He looked around while walking through the office, most of his team members had already left. His eyes wandered to the desks filled with old maps and documents, the screens still flickering with coordinates and sonar scans.
None of them leading to the lost U-530, a German U-boat that reportedly transported many secrets of the Nazi regime right before its fall.
His eyes wandered further over one of the desks, and amid the scattered documents, a yellowed picture caught his attention. A warm, almost nostalgic smile flickered across Paul’s face. "Cairo," he muttered. His team, although a smaller and younger version of it, sand covering half their bodies. A coffin-like box, covered in shiny gems, lay before them.
He thought back to the endless adventures, the excitement and the renown that trip brought him. It was his first major finding, the one that made him famous. It was also officially the first time he met his American rival James. At least that’s what the press began calling them over the years.
He knew James was in the same boat, hunting the ghost called U-530, but Paul knew this hunt was harder and even more impossible than any before.
Paul pondered for a long time, his forehead covered with wrinkles.
He hesitated for a moment, fingers hovering over James’ number, before finally pressing down.
The phone rang once... twice...
"Paul?" James’ voice came through, calm but carrying the slightest edge of exhaustion.
"James," Paul said with a slightly sarcastic tone. "Sounds like you’ve made about as much progress as I have these past few weeks."
"What is it?," James asked annyonence evidend in his voice.
"Look, I’m calling because I have a suggestion. Why don’t we combine the data we’ve collected over time and look for cross-references. I’m sure with double the amount of data we can find it." Paul said.
There was a long pause until James finally spoke. "Fine, but this doesn’t mean that I will share whatever we find in that goddamn U-boat. Let’s exchange data and nothing else."
There was a long silence again while Paul was weighing his options before he finally answered.
"I agree," he said before hanging up.
Paul stood up before going outside, starting his car, preparing to drive home, yet before he could press the accelerator he thought about his wife, her nagging. Why was he so late again? Did he not care about his family?
Paul sighed, his head hurting at the thought. "I will just sleep here," he said to himself, sliding into his seat, trying to find a comfortable position.
His eyes slowly closed, his breath slowing down.
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Paul opened his eyes, looking at the endless ocean laying before him.
He adjusted his diving mask, his eyes scanning the horizon, not for the beautiful sunset but for James. Paul thought back to their phone call two weeks earlier and the cooperation that had followed. By combining their data and days of relentless work, Paul managed to pinpoint what he believed was the location of the U-530.
He rushed towards the airport, once again abandoning his family, putting work, his passion, over them.
Paul glanced down at the small picture he always carried with him. It was his family, smiling and carefree, unaware of the countless dangers he faced in the name of discovery. He gave it a quiet nod, a silent promise to them. "This will be the last time."
"It still seems like we are a step ahead," Paul said to his colleague Werner, who was also adjusting his diving suit.
"Now we are paying him back for Brazil," Werner said mockingly. "That temple was ours, we had located it first..."
Paul interrupted him. "He is as stubborn as me, if not more. He would stop at nothing to reach his goal. That’s the James I got to know. And trust me, he is still the same greedy man he was back then. He stole enough from us, now it’s time we got our hands on that mythical U-boat."
With that Paul and Werner slipped over the edge of their vessel, the cold Atlantic water swallowing them instantly. The light from above became smaller and smaller, the bottom darker and darker.
Paul’s eyes scanned the murky seabed for a while, seeing nothing but algae and sand, before his eyes lit up.
He gestured to Werner, who followed his gaze. There it was, the unmistakable silhouette of a U-boat, buried half within the seabed.
Paul and Werner swam slowly, mustering its silhouette, until they spotted a half-open hatch. They looked at each other, hearts racing, before they slipped inside.
Their flashlights cut through the thick gloom, illuminating rusted control panels, scattered documents and crates stacked against the walls. A withered but still recognizable Nazi flag hung on one wall, a reminder of the vessel’s past.
Paul and Werner paused in a narrow corridor, their flashlights cutting through the darkness.
Paul made a quick hand signal, two fingers pointed in opposite directions and one tap on his helmet. Werner understood immediately: they would split up to cover more ground.
James POV
Meanwhile above the water, a big boat came racing towards the spot where Paul and Werner had dived down, halting next to it. Big waves splashed against Paul’s rented ship.
James saw the commotion he had caused on his enemy’s boat; he smiled happily.
A ripple signaled his arrival. The American diver cut through the Atlantic depths quickly, eyes locked on the same prize, eager to catch up, securing something for himself.
He too spotted the submarine exactly where it should be.
He entered through another hatch, approaching from the opposite side where Paul and Werner had entered.
James swam cautiously down the narrow corridor, flashlight cutting through the murky water.
Give me something, anything, he thought while mustering the dead devices and withered corpses, looking for anything valuable, perhaps myth-like.
Come on Nazis, what fucked up stuff have you tried to hide, he thought, his annoyance coming through.
Then, around a corner, he froze. Another diver was there, just a few meters away, his flashlight illuminating a golden gleam that caught both their eyes.
Paul! James thought, looking at the man enraged.
Paul’s eyes widened as he looked from the treasure to James.
James too focused on the gleam. It was a statue of an eagle, directly within the hands of a skeleton still clad in its uniform.
James saw Paul reaching out for the majestic-looking statue, so he did too, ready to fight Paul for it.
That bastard, this is mine, he thought, gritting his teeth.
Both of their fingertips touched the statue simultaneously, their hands nearly touching as they grasped the eagle.
James’ other hand moved near his back, where he had secured a diving knife.
This is too valuable, it can’t fall into that German idiot’s hands, James thought, a dangerous glint forming in his eyes.
But then a sudden pulse of blinding white light erupted from the eagle, flooding through the narrow compartment, engulfing both divers entirely.
James had to close his eyes, the intense light hindering his vision. He tried to block it with his hands, yet it was as if the light was everywhere.
Then the water around them shimmered and twisted, as if reality itself was falling apart.
Everything felt weightless for a moment. James felt like he was falling into the abyss.
And then, just as suddenly, the light vanished. It was as if nothing had happened, except the eagle, Paul and James, even the whole submarine: all of them were gone.