“Is this about my speeding, Officer?” Ericcson asked.

“Yes, sir,” the cop said. “License and registration, sir?”

Ericcson let out a tense breath and broke into a grin, aware of the state trooper staring strangely at him, but not caring.

“Thank God, Officer,” he said as he reached for his wallet. “Thank God.”

Author’s Note

Comments, reviews, and letters are always welcome. If you are on-line, you can reach me by E-mail at reader mail ussdevilfish.com or by visiting the Web site ussdevilfish.com. If you don’t have electronic means, jot a note to the publisher. I answer every letter received — not always on the day I receive it, but eventually.

For those readers who’ve followed Michael Pacino from the day he commanded the Piranha-class submarine Devilfish, I want to express my thanks. For those who have not, please check out Voyage of the Devilfish, Attack of the Seawolf, Phoenix Sub Zero, Barracuda Final Bearing, Piranha Firing Point, and Threat Vector, all of them available at ussdevilfish.com, Amazon.com, or BarnesandNoble.com.

Welcome aboard and rig for dive.

Michael DiMer curio Princeton, New Jersey USSdevilfish.com

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my wife, Patti, for all the inspiration she’s given me — enough for three lifetimes.

Thanks to my children — Matt, Maria and Meghan — for being my teachers and reminding me of what is truly important in life.

Thanks to Bill Parker, president of Parker Information Systems (parkerinfo.com) and architect of the ussdevilfish.com Web site, who is a great promotional sounding board and a great friend.

Finally, thanks to editorial genius Doug Grad, who guided this book to a safe landing after a hair-raising flight.

About the Author

MICHAEL DlMERCURIO was an honors graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, a National Science Foundation scholar at MIT, a graduate of the Navy Nuclear Training Program, and a Navy diver. While a lieutenant, he served as a chief nuclear engineer qualified officer and ship’s diver on the USS Hammerhead, a Sturgeon-class fast-attack nuclear submarine of the Atlantic Fleet. DiMer curio and the Hammerhead spent more than fifty days trailing Russian nuclear submarines.

DiMercurio Web site is www.ussdevilfish.com. He can be reached at readermailussdevilfish.com. DiMercurio lives in Princeton, New Jersey, where he is hard at work on his next submarine novel.