the almost unparalleled security system offered the boat owners. Every person who went in or out of the marina had to pass through computerized gates adjacent to the headquarters building. A full listing of each individual entrance and exit, including the time of passage through the gate, was printed out each night and retained in the security office files as a precaution in case any suspicious or untoward events were reported.
Materiel entering and leaving the marina was also routinely scrutinized (and logged) by the security chief to prevent the theft of expensive navigation equipment and other electronics. Carol was only mildly irked when, after she paid for the charter, Julianne asked her to fill out a sheet describing the contents of the closed footlocker. But Carol really objected when the summoned security chief, a typical Boston Irish policeman who had retired in the Key West area, Forced her to open the locker to verify the contents. Carol's objections and Troy's attempts to help her were to no avail. Rules were rules.
Because the cart would not fit through the door into the adjacent security office, the footlocker was opened in the main clearing room of the marina headquarters. A couple of curious passersby, including one giant, friendly woman about forty named Ellen (Troy knew her from somewhere, probably she was one of the boat owners, Carol thought), came over and watched while Officer O'Rourke carefully compared the contents of the locker with the list that Carol had prepared.
Carol was a little rattled as she and Troy pulled the cart down the jetty toward the Florida Queen. She had hoped to attract as little attention as possible and she was now angry with herself for not anticipating the security check. Nick, meanwhile, after performing a few routine preparations on the boat and opening another beer, had become engrossed again in the basketball game. His beloved Harvard was now losing to Tennessee. He did not even hear Troy's whistling until his crewman and Carol were just a few yards away.
'Jesus,' Nick turned around, 'I thought you had gotten lost ...' His voice trailed off as he saw the cart and the footlocker. 'What the fuck is that?'
'It's Miss Dawson's equipment, Professor,' Troy answered with a big grin. He reached into the locker, first picking up a cylinder with a clear glass face, a large flashlight-looking object on a mounting bracket. It was about two feet long and weighed about twelve pounds. 'Here, for example, is what she tells me is an ocean telescope. We attach it to the bottom of the boat by this bracket and it takes pictures that are displayed on this here television monitor and also stored on this other device, a recorder of some '
'Hold it,' Nick interrupted Troy imperiously. Nick walked up the gangplank and stared incredulously into the locker. He shook his head and looked from Troy to Carol. 'Do I have this right? We are supposed to set up all this shit just to go out into the Gulf for one afternoon to look for whales?' He scowled at Troy. 'Where is your head, Jefferson? This stuff is heavy, it will take time to set it up, and it' s already after noon.
'And as for you, sister,' Nick continued, turning to Carol, 'take your toys and your treasure map elsewhere. We know what you're up to and we have more important things to do.'
'Are you through?' Carol shouted at Nick as he walked back down the gangplank onto the Florida Queen. He stopped and turned partially around. 'Look, you asshole.' Carol raged, giving vent to the frustration and anger that had been building inside of her, 'it is certainly your right to deny me the use of your boat. But it is not your right to act like God almighty and treat me or anyone else like shit just because I'm a woman and you feel like pushing somebody around.' She stepped toward him. Nick backed up a step in the face of her continued offensive.
'I told you that I want to look for whales and that's what I intend to do. What you might think I'm doing is really of no significance to me. As for the important things that you have to do, you haven't moved from that goddamn basketball game in the last hour, except to get more beer. If you'll just stay out of the way. Troy and I can set all this gear in place in half an hour. And