Tom watches as Delphine surfaces along with another person. She was helping a friend of hers name John Smith. They were scraping the bottom of a scallop boat and removing algae growth from inside the cooling intakes. Normally, John did the job himself, but he has developed some health issues and needed some assistant to complete the job.

He knew Delphine was available and asked her if she wouldn’t mind helping him. He knew she was dive certified.

“How much more do you two have to finish?” Tom had tagged along to keep an eye on the two of them while they worked.

Delphine removes the mouthpiece from her mouth and looks up at Tom “we need another hour or so. However, I need to change my tank out. I’m out of air.”

Delphine climbs out of the water, followed by John. John looks at Delphine, as she takes her tank off “did you bring a spare tank with you?”

“Yep, I brought two extra tanks. You’re welcome to use the second spare.” Delphine was having problems removing her tank.

“Here, let me help you, sweetie.” Tom walks over and helps Delphine with her air tank.

“Thanks.” Delphine stands still, as Tom takes her empty air tank off her back.

She watches as John takes his tank off and sits on the tailgate of his pickup truck. She sits down on the tailgate of her older brother’s pickup truck.

“How can the two of you see while your underwater?” Tom has never been scuba diving before.

“With our hands and these flashlights.” Delphine points towards the flashlights attached to her shoulder straps.

“I don’t see how you are able to do this.”

“It’s easier than removing explosives from ships or disarming them.” Delphine sort of missed being in the navy.

She missed the jazz whenever she had to disarm an explosive. She still tries to keep her skill level up removing explosives and building them.

“We need to finish this job, Delphine.” John had an appointment later that day.

“Okay.” Delphine stands up off the tailgate and stand still as Tom helps her put the new tank on.

“There, your ready now.” Tom smiles at Delphine and watches as she tests the connections.

“Thanks.” Delphine walks back over to the pier and jump into the water.

A few seconds later, John jumps in as well. He goes back to the area of the ship he was working on before he got out to change tanks. He watches as Delphine swims over to the area she was working.

Tom waits up by the truck while Delphine is underwater. The company they were at had a fleet of fishing vessels. They had at least five other vessels. One was named the Navigator, and another was named the Sea Queen. He smiles when he spots a boat traveling up the waterways named the Smelly Vagina.

Occasionally, the security guard on duty would stop by to check on and talk with him. The security officer was a small woman and was unarmed. She had short black hair and looked like she had some Mexican ancestry in her looks. When she spoke, she had a slight accent to her speech.

Selma looks over towards the two pickup trucks and the man out on the pier. She knew John because he comes out to the fishing company to do work on the boats for the company she worked for. The man and the other woman that had shown up with John were new to her.

The woman had arrived with the man in the black pickup truck. She noticed it had three air tanks in the bed of the truck. Along with some tools and other items. She observed, that when the woman was in the water with John. The man stood near the pier watching where they went down. He had a rope and a life preserver on the pier near him. She figured that he was the woman’s safety person.

She walks over towards him “how are they doing?”

Tom turns around when he hears the female security officers' voice “they just changed tanks and went back to work.”

“They have more nerve then I do. I don’t think I could do what they do.” Selma knew she was a poor swimmer.

“It takes a lot of nerve and skill to do what they are doing. But my girlfriend is used to doing this type of work.” Tom knew Delphine had a lot of
dive experience from her time in the navy.

“Oh? Why is that?” Selma was curios about the strawberry blonde woman.

“She’s a former Navy diver. Its what she did for them.”

“What does she do now?” Selma watches Tom.

“She works for NOAA as an oceanographer and builds ships.” Tom didn’t think it mattered too much as he talked with the security guard.

“So, she goes diving all the time?” Selma didn’t know what an oceanographer did.

“You could say that. When she isn’t out at sea doing research for NOAA.” Tom knew Delphine had an assignment coming up soon.

Her boss and a few others at NOAA want to send her and the other people she is working with, to investigate the huge heat blob that has formed and is killing birds and other sea life. It is also causing the growth of harmful algae to form.

“I wish I knew how to scuba.” Selma wouldn’t mind being the one in the water and getting paid to do it.

“Trust me, what she is doing is dangerous. The ship could press down on her and pin her under the keel. So, she must be aware of everything
going on around her. Also, she must worry about the current and other sea life that could harm her.” Tom knew Delphine had a lot she had to
look out for.

“Still, it must be nice. Does she make good money doing what she is doing?’ Selma figures if she could improve her swimming, then she could learn how to scuba.

“She does okay.” Tom didn’t know how much money Delphine was making at NOAA or with John.

He knew she had some items she recovered from shipwrecks she has helped find. He knew they were worth a lot of money. He saw her collection when he visited her at her parents’ house.

Selma glances at her watch “time for me to get back to work.”

“Be careful.” Tom watches as Selma walks off.

John and Delphine resurface after an hour. Both looked tired from being underwater and working. Tom helps Delphine up when she comes up the ladder.

“Thanks.” Delphine unbuckles her vest and lets it down on the tailgate of the truck.

Tom helps Delphine with the rest of her gear. He puts her stuff in the back of the pickup and secures it. She had her swimsuit on underneath her wetsuit.

She looks over towards John and could see he was a little pale. She knew he had a mild heart attack a few months ago.

“Are you okay, John?” Delphine was concerned about him.

“I’ll be fine, Delphine.” John finishes stripping out of his wetsuit.

“Are you sure, John?” Delphine wasn’t convinced.

“Yes, I’m sure.” John just smiles and finishes changing

Once Delphine had all her gear stored and secure. She looks over at John and hopes her instincts are wrong.

“See you later, John.” She and Tom drive off and head towards their favorite restaurant.