Barracuda Read Online Free PDF

brunette with
lumpy shoulders and a weathered face much like Dorothy’s nemesis,
the Wicked Witch of the West. She was beyond sixty years old, but
as tough as they came.
    “C’mon, c’mon, I ain’t got all day,” she
bellowed
    “Is your name really Mabel?” Micko inquired. He
suddenly felt mischievous.
    “Keep that up and you’ll get cold coffee and
runny eggs,” she blared.
    “Talk about a name fitting the job,” Micko
continued brazenly.
    “I’ll be right back with three cold coffees for
the three comedians,” she responded.
    “Are you satisfied, Micko?” Gus complained.
    “Well, we could always walk down the yellow
brick road and find the coffee house with the good witch,” Micko
cracked. He started to laugh at his own joke.
    “Or maybe we could click our heels and go to
Kansas,” JC quipped.
    “Hey, Gus, don’t you own a pair of red
shoes?”
    Micko and JC were beside themselves with
laughter.
    Eavesdropping, Mabel was actually enjoying this
juvenile banter. True to her word, she brought three cold cups of
coffee, but she put a fresh pot on that the three couldn’t see.
    “Okay, my three little Einsteins, what will you
have?”
    Micko ordered, “Two eggs over easy with bacon,
crisp, and rye toast with butter.”
    JC ordered, “Scrambled eggs with sausage and
whole wheat toast.”
    Gus was nervous about getting runny eggs, so he
ordered a cop special. “What kind of donuts do you have?”
    “For you, Mr. Wizard, we have a box of
munchkins,” she joked.
    With that, the entire table and nearby diners
roared with laughter. Apparently, quite a few people were listening
in. It appeared that Mabel had as much fun as the detectives during
these breakfast encounters.
    JC was excited as he pulled out some pages he
had downloaded and printed off his computer. He did a great job of
researching the Marshall Islands, the Bikini Atoll in particular.
“Micko, this place is better than Truk Lagoon.”
    “What’s Truk Lagoon?” Gus asked.
    Micko answered, “It’s where the U.S. sank the
Jap fleet near the end of World War II. There are dozens of
warships sunk there, and they offer some great shipwreck
dives.”
    “Yeah, but in Truk most of the good ships are in
very deep water,” JC said. “You need to either dive on mixed gas,
limit yourself to shallow wrecks, or do fewer dives per day. In
Bikini, the atoll is shallower, hence the dives are shallower.”
    “But is it dangerous to dive on a radioactive
island?” Micko wondered. Despite Sharon’s assurances, this was what
had been bothering him most.
    “Not according to the U.S. radioactivity
reports,” JC answered. “The U.S. would not have built a dive resort
for the Bikinians if it wasn’t safe. Here are some of the pages
that I downloaded regarding the safety issues.” He handed Micko
some computer printouts that resembled survey reports.
    The three detectives talked incessantly while
gorging themselves on a hearty breakfast. Micko had a number of
reports from JC to read and brochures on the way from Sharon. He
would be busy for the next few days preparing for his trip. He
silently wondered if this trip would cure the horrendous nightmares
he had been having lately. He had doubted his nerve and
self-confidence since the shooting nearly left him dead in the
hallway of a rundown South Bronx tenement building. Maybe some
exciting diving will bring back my confidence , he thought.
    ***
    The next day, Micko picked up his equipment from
Captain Mike’s and started packing his serviced scuba diving gear.
He took out his Sea & Sea Motormarine underwater camera,
greased the O-rings, and bought new batteries for the strobe light.
He did the same for his high-powered underwater flashlight.
    After he finished rechecking everything, he
visited his regular general practitioner and got all the necessary
shots for the Marshall Islands. Later in the day, he got a call
from Sharon.
    “I hope you’re packed and ready to go because I
have your reservations,