The Search for the Fountain of Youth

Part 3 - Present Day

A gloved hand brushed aside several broken plates and grasped the bottle. The hand pulled it closer to a scuba diving mask for a better view.
   Lucas Caine couldn't believe his eyes. After careful research and a tip from an offshore fisherman, he and his business partner, Darwin Trickett, discovered what they hoped was the wreckage of the Patriot. Since the ship disappeared sometime around New Year's Day in 1813, rumors and legends of what happened to the ship and its passengers swirled.
   They discovered the ship in two-hundred feet of water in an area dubbed 'The Graveyard of the Atlantic.' Their first clue was a pile of ballast lying a depression. Upon closer investigation, they found the carcass of a ship covered by sand and other debris lying around the pile of rubble. Not much remained.
The answer to the shipwreck's identity might lie in the bottle clutched in his hands. To this point, he and Darwin had no definitive proof that this was the Patriot.
   The remains of the front half of the ship where the name would have been were no more. Lucas's brother, Blake found a fork with, they think, a name engraved on it. Sailors during this period owned a fork on which they had their name inscribed. Lucas had to get the piece of cutlery back to the lab for further investigation and see if the name matched any sailor known to be aboard the Patriot.
   Not much survived. A pile of ballast and other lumps in the sand were the only clues of a shipwreck.
   Lucas did most of the diving. Darwin stayed on board their ship to give support. His size made it difficult for him to maneuver through the sometimes-dangerous wreckages. Darwin was six foot, eight inches tall and weighed over three-hundred and fifty pounds on a good day. Lucas stood a few inches shorter, still six-three, but had a body honed from years of swimming.
   They each recognized the other's strengths and weaknesses. Their present roles in their company, Big Treasure Finders, Ltd., suited them. 
   "Lucas?" Darwin called through Lucas's earpiece. "Lucas, what's up? Talk to me."
   Lucas tore his gaze off the bottle long enough to take stock of his immediate surroundings. Small fish darted to and fro. Specks of algae floated in the water in front of his mask.
   "Uh, yeah. I found something," Lucas said.
   "What is it?" Darwin giggled.
Lucas sounded like Mickey Mouse due to the mix of air in his tank, which included helium. Darwin found it hilarious because he was big Disney fan.
   Lucas answered, "A bottle." 
"A bottle? Neato. Fantastic."
   Lucas heard the sarcasm dripping in his friend's voice. "Darwin, it's not just any bottle. This thing has paper, a message perhaps, rolled up inside, sealed tight."
   "You're joking, right?"
   "Nope." Lucas checked his remaining air supply. He would have to stop on his way to the surface to decompress to keep from getting the dreaded bends. "Darwin, I'm headed your way. Air is running low."
   "Okay, get up here. Be careful."
   "Trust me," Lucas said. "I will."

A short while later, Lucas stood on the deck of their research vessel the Queen Anne's Second Revenge. After he and Darwin, and the help from a few friends discovered Blackbeard's lost treasure two years before, they went into business together searching for old shipwrecks off the Carolina Coasts and down into Georgia. Their venture was more expensive than they ever imagined. To date, none of those came close to holding or leading to what they found on their first adventure, but they'd done enough to stay in business. Barely. 
   They quickly realized that deep-shipwreck diving was hazardous. Every dive held many forms of peril. A person could run out of air if they got tangled or trapped in wreckage during a dive. Of the ten million certified scuba divers in the United States, only a few hundred risked their lives and dive deep for shipwrecks. 
   Lucas Caine and his younger brother Blake were two.  
   The bottle sat in front of Darwin and Lucas on a white metal table against the portside wall. Findings from Lucas's dive littered the table's surface. A bead of water on the green glass dripped onto the tabletop. The boat rocked on the water. Seagulls honked overhead.
   Silence stretched as they regarded the significance of the bottle's contents, Lucas said to Darwin, "Okay big guy. This is your area of expertise. Can we just uncork the bottle and see what the note says?"
   Darwin stroked the bushy goatee. Lucas remembered that when he first picked Darwin up in Raleigh, North Carolina on their way to the Outer Banks to start the search for Blackbeard's treasure, it had been four or five years since they'd seen each other. At the time, Darwin had large, unkempt afro, thick beard, Coke-bottle glasses, and ratty clothes, not because that was his choice of style, but more because he didn't have the money to do anything about his appearance. After they discovered the treasure, Darwin got a makeover. He kept his hair cut tight around his skull, owned a pair of glasses that would cause him to stand out at New York Fashion Week, and dressed only in Brooks Brothers clothing. 
He'd even lost weight, Lucas noted. At one time, Darwin's appearance frightened small children. Now at thirty-years-old, he had a scholarly, welcoming exterior. 
"Usually," Darwin answered, "you uncork the thing and see what's in it."
It shouldn't be that simple, Lucas thought, and then said, "I don't know. If this came from the Patriot, it's been down there for over two-hundred years. Wouldn't the dampness and moisture surrounding the paper make the ink run? I mean, would we be able to read it?"
"Dunno. Might be okay."
Lucas shook his head in consternation. "It seems like that'd be reckless. Popping the cork like that. Out here in the middle of the Atlantic."
Darwin shrugged. "We could wait until we get back to the lab where we'll be able to control the atmospheric conditions. Keep it cool and in low humidity."
"I prefer that way better."
"If you say so, boss."
Lucas and Darwin were fifty-fifty partners in their enterprise, but Darwin often let Lucas make the final call on important matters such as this. 
Lucas smiled. "What did I tell you about calling me that?"
Darwin affected a look of innocence. "What? Boss?"
"Yeah that. Don't call me that. We're equal in this thing, remember?" 
"I know," Darwin laughed. 
"Besides, it makes me feel old."
"Whatever you say, boss."