Free Undersea City by Frederik & Williamson Pohl

Dad.”
    I said, “But I don’t even know where he is, Harley. For all I know, he might be in the Antarctic or the Gulf of California.”
    “He’s here,” said Bob, absent-mindedly. “I thought—” Then he caught himself sharply
    “What did you say?”
    Bob looked confused, as though he had spoken without thinking. “Why, uh—” he squirmed uncomfortably. “I mean, I saw him. Or anyway, I thought I saw him. Somebody that looked like him, at any rate. Probably that’s what it was, Jim—just someone who looked like him. I, uh, didn’t have time to speak to him—”
    I looked at him for a moment.
    Then I said, “I see,” and I let it drop there.
    But there was no doubt in my mind, now, that Bob was keeping something from me that concerned my uncle.
    And there was no doubt in my mind, now, that—no matter what it meant—I was going to change my mind about taking that pass from Lieutenant Tsuya.

9
Eden Enterprises, Unlimited
    I straightened my sea-cap, made sure my uniform was properly buttoned, and entered the huge doorway between the vaulting pillars shaped like sea-cars. They stretched forty feet up to the top of the deck, sea-basalt, as impressive as the entrance to the Taj Mahal; in actuality, they were the entrance to the offices of Barnacle Ben Danthorpe.
    A blonde iceberg at the reception desk inside inspected me. She showed no visible signs of thawing.
    I said, “I’d like to see Mr. Ben Danthorpe.” Silence. “I’m a close friend of Harley Danthorpe’s.” More silence. “Harley is Mr. Danthorpe’s son.”
    Still more silence, while she looked me up and down.
    Then, reluctantly, she shrugged. “One moment, sir,” she said, and picked up a telephone.
    I stood waiting.
    I felt out of place there, but it was the only clue I had to follow.
    If my uncle was really in Krakatoa Dome, he had beaten my poor skills at trying to find him. I had tried the phone directory, the business associations, the hotels. No one had ever heard of him.
    So all that was left was to talk to Barnacle Ben Danthorpe. He had told his son that he had heard a rumor about Uncle Stewart; perhaps I could track the rumor down.
    I saw the snow-blonde eyebrows on the girl lift slightly. “You will?” she said, incredulous. Then she looked at me with a curiously unbelieving expression. “You may go in, Mr. Eden,” she said coolly, nodding toward the office elevator. “Mr. Danthorpe is at Sub-Level A.”
    When I stepped out of the little elevator at the top of its track, Barnacle Ben Danthorpe was waiting for me.
    He shook my hand cordially—like a salesman, in fact. “Jim Eden!” he cried. “Harley has told me a great deal about you! And your uncle—why, Stewart Eden and I—many years, my boy! Many years!” He didn’t exactly say what was supposed to have been happening those many years, of course. I didn’t expect him to. I knew that he and my uncle had not been exactly close friends. “Enemies” was a better word, in fact.
    But still, he was the only lead I had.
    He conveyed me into a big, sound-proofed office, paneled with sea-wood from salvaged wrecks. “What is it, Jim?” His squint was just like his son’s. “What can I do for you?”
    “You can help me find my uncle,” I said bluntly.
    “Ah.” He squinted thoughtfully at me for a moment. “You don’t know where he is?”
    I told him the truth: “No, sir I’ve heard that he’s in Krakatoa Dome. I hope you can tell me where.”
    He shook his head. “No, Jim, I can’t do that. But perhaps—”
    His voice drifted off. He stood up and began to roam around his office. “I’ve heard strange things about your uncle, Jim,” he mused. “I knew that he was foundering, eh? Made one foolish investment too many?” He shook his head. “It never pays, Jim, never pays to put your money where your heart is. Your uncle was always a great one for backing risky ventures—because, he said, they were ‘good for the people of the sea.’ Foolish. I told him