“Cal, what a guy!” Luca muttered under his breath while maintaining a nonchalant demeanor as he surveyed the Titanic’s bottom tanks.
“Mr.
Quinn, did you say something?” As his self-appointed guide, Jack felt like he was slowly being roasted alive.
Like all cruise ships, the Titanic’s lowest level housed the engine room, what most people called the boiler room.
Giant boilers towering over ten meters high roared with fury while nearly a hundred workers shoveled coal into their hungry maws at breakneck speed, feeding the behemoth enough power to propel this floating city across the ocean.
“Nothing.” Regarding that fellow Caledon, Luca had to maintain some civility because of his fiancée’s…
situation.
But facing a Jack, he needn’t bother with pretense.
Call it same-sex repulsion, if you will.
For a man like Jack, who survived by charming women with his face, the world would be better off without such types.
If more good men like Caledon existed, society would surely improve.
Originally, Luca had been agonizing over how to sink the ship safely and effectively.
He had only one chance, if he couldn’t destroy it in a single strike, a second attempt would be impossible.
Given the limited power and quantity of his explosives, he’d wondered whether completing the mission was even feasible.
After all, he’d racked his brains to acquire these materials.
Obtaining more was completely out of the question.
But?
Those concerns no longer mattered.
The steel report Caledon had provided revealed a critical flaw in the vulcanized steel currently in use.
In near-freezing temperatures, this steel underwent a cold brittle reaction, essentially becoming as fragile as glass.
Certainly, “as fragile as glass” was merely metaphorical, but the steel would indeed become significantly more brittle than normal under low-temperature conditions.
This vulnerability stemmed from the current industrial environment.
The chemical composition of vulcanized steel inherently possessed this weakness, impossible to eliminate with existing technology.
This defect, much like the formula for yellow explosive, remained closely guarded by major steel conglomerates.
The outside world didn’t even know such information existed.
After all, who would be significantly bored enough to repeatedly strike warships or cruise ships in below-freezing conditions to test their fragility?
Reading the report Caledon had shared, Luca finally understood why something had felt off when he first watched the film.
Such a massive vessel, breaking in half simply from stern flooding?
Even scale models of ships tended to sink intact, why would the real thing snap cleanly in two?
Now he understood perfectly.
When Titanic struck the iceberg, every component contacting the ice in that frigid environment became brittle, causing the ship’s main structure to fracture.
Everyone knows that once a crack appears in glass, complete failure isn’t far behind.
Armed with this information, Luca had decided to survey the scene personally.
Jack, currently his primary errand boy, had learned that the “big boss” wanted to inspect the engine room and immediately volunteered as guide.
“Quinn, is there anything interesting down here?” Rose asked, clinging persistently to Luca’s side.
Even at their current distance from the boilers, the temperature remained almost unbearably hot.
Beads of sweat dotted Rose’s flushed cheeks.
Those beads of sweat traced a path along her neck, glistening like dewdrops cascading over exquisite porcelain.
Jack’s eyes went wide, his gaze fixed on the spectacle.
Rose noticed immediately and found herself thoroughly displeased.
That morning, she’d discovered the true value of the medications she’d purchased from Jack, learning that this smooth-talking scoundrel had actually swindled her out of twenty pounds.
The revelation infuriated this aristocratic lady who prided herself on sophistication.
It wasn’t the money itself that bothered her.
However diminished the Bukater fortunes, they remained nobility, twenty pounds meant nothing to her.
What angered her was the deception.
This man, reasonably handsome, presenting himself as a romantic wandering artist, had actually earned her genuine goodwill.
She’d thought him interesting, perhaps even admirable.
And now this?
Twenty pounds, stolen through fraud?
Rose revised her estimation, the man was simply a shameless villain.
Of course, if Jack’s goal had been to seduce Rose, he’d have maintained his carefully crafted persona.
But anyone with eyes could see this girl had already tethered her heart entirely to Luca.
With that ship sailed, why shouldn’t Jack exploit his working relationship for some extra income?
Perfectly natural.
“Nothing of consequence.” “If I’m to invest in Mr.
Hockley’s steel group, careful study seems appropriate.” Luca smiled faintly, patting Rose’s arm, the only contact he permitted himself.
This woman, her fiancé stood right there.
Some awareness of propriety would be welcome.
Caledon mopped sweat from his brow, uncertain whether the moisture stemmed from heat or sheer aggravation.
“Mr.
Quinn demonstrates remarkable thoroughness, attending to such details personally.” Most investors merely reviewed experimental data, having an investor actually inspect conditions was unusual.
But as the party seeking funding, Caledon had no grounds to refuse.
To keep this deep-pocketed patron happy, he’d even overlooked his fiancée’s embarrassingly forward behavior.
He’d resolved that upon reaching New York, Rose would be confined to the house.
This woman possessed absolutely no self-awareness.
Wealthy couples often maintained certain…
arrangements, certainly.
But in public, some pretense of propriety was expected.
Rose currently conducted herself as if she couldn’t wait to throw herself at Quinn, any observer would assume she was his mistress rather than Caledon’s fiancée.
“A man must be faithful to his investments, just as a subject must be loyal to his lord.
This is merely fulfilling that duty.” Luca clasped his hands in a traditional gesture.
“Mr.
Quinn, what was that?” Caledon looked puzzled.
“Nothing at all.
Mr.
Hockley, you mentioned that all the steel used in the Titanic was supplied by Hockley Group.” “Does that include this?” Luca stamped his foot on the partition separating this section of the bilge.
Ten meters below the waterline.
If this partition suddenly gave way, everyone in this compartment would feed the sharks within minutes.
“Indeed.
But rest assured, Mr.
Quinn… Hockley steel meets the highest quality standards.” “Safety performance is absolutely guaranteed.”