his feet. The nose of the object had stopped their descent, and he had wedged his feet against it.
Elise’s lungs felt like they would explode. She looked up to her rescuer. He had a hardened yet handsome face that had seen many hours in the sun. His eyes were open, and he looked at her with confidence and intelligence. Once more, the green orbs winked at her, telling her to hang on, they would soon be safe.
The force of the water diminished, and Pitt freed his legs from the towfish and kicked upward until they broke the surface. Elise gasped, filling her lungs with deep breaths as the pounding in her head slowly lessened. The current still pulled at their bodies, and she kept a firm hold on Pitt, whose arms were outstretched gripping the cable.
Elise looked ahead and saw the survey boat. On its stern deck a curly-haired man with Mediterranean features quickly pulled in the blue cable with his thick hands and arms. In the water nearby, Rondi grasped the taut rescue line tied to the survey boat’s stern.
“That was a shower for the ages,” Pitt said. He turned to her and grinned. “You okay?”
Still gasping, Elise nodded and gave a weak smile.
Giordino pulled them alongside the corner transom, keeping them away from the churning outboards that held the survey boat in place. He reached over and lifted Elise onto the deck with an effortless grab. Pitt climbed aboard on his own and waved to the old fisherman who was manning the helm. Then he pulled in the remaining cable and towfish.
Giordino offered Pitt a crooked grin. “I suggest you consider using a barrel next time you decide to jump over some falls.”
“Barrels are for sissies,” Pitt said. “But thanks for the lift.”
Giordino stepped to the opposite corner of the stern and began pulling in Rondi. “I was hoping you wouldn’t slip to the end. Glad the towfish held its bite on the cable.”
“You and me both,” Pitt replied. “I’m afraid that cable might be stretched a bit longer than it was when we started.”
“I think our survey work is done for the day.” Giordino nodded toward Elise and the old man, then yanked Rondi aboard.
The teen stood there, shivering, and stammered, “Miss Elise . . . I thought you were gone . . . over the dam . . . for good.”
“So did I.” Elise turned to Pitt. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
She stepped closer and awkwardly shook his hand. “My name is Elise Aguilar, with the U.S. Agency for International Development. I was trying to collect some water samples with Rondi when the dam gave way.”
Rondi, calmer now, followed Elise’s lead and shook hands with Pitt and Giordino. “I don’t think the dam collapsed. I think it was blown up.”
Elise looked at him. “Rondi, who would blow up a dam here?”
Rondi shrugged. “I don’t know, Miss Elise. It just sounded like some explosions before it fell down.”
They all looked aft at the remains of the dam. The reservoir had lost twenty feet of depth, exposing a wide, jagged opening in the concrete. The water drainage was slowing, but the impact was evident. Wide swaths of muddy ground lay exposed on the reservoir’s shore. The survey boat pulled forward as the draw from the falls abated.
Giordino found a thermos of hot coffee for Elise and Rondi, then stepped to the wheelhouse and relieved the fisherman at the helm. Easing ahead on the throttle, he guided the boat away from the dam.
Elise slowly sipped the coffee, passed it to Rondi, then looked at the sonar towfish on the deck. She turned to Pitt. “What are you doing on Cerrón Grande?”
“We were attending a subsea technology conference in San Salvador and had a free afternoon. Thought we’d try out a new sonar system and see if there were any monsters or shipwrecks at the bottom of the lake.”
“Monsters or shipwrecks?”
“Al and I work for the National Underwater and Marine Agency.”
Elise was familiar with NUMA, the U.S. scientific organization tasked with monitoring the world’s oceans. Pitt was in fact the agency’s Director, while his age-old friend Al Giordino headed the undersea technology division. A marine engineer by trade since a stint in the Air Force, Pitt had a lifelong fascination with the sea, being drawn to underwater exploration at every opportunity.
“Yes, I know NUMA,” Elise said, “though I doubt you’ll find either monsters or shipwrecks in this lake. By the way, I thought all of NUMA’s vessels were