WEBVTT

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Matt, I'm knocked out.

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I'm going to read the opening.

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And this section
is called "Marlin."

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And that's all.

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Just going to start reading.

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Can you hear me all
right back there?

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Val shifted his eyes
from the bait riding just

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beyond the wake and glanced
back toward his brother.

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Davis surveyed the
horizon, arms crossed,

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a white sun visor
shading his eyes,

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wire man's gloves tucked into
the back pocket of his shorts.

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Last night, Val had been
as terrified of Davis

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as he had of anyone or
anything in his life.

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It had been over Lee Anne.

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Face half hidden by wild,
bleached blonde hair,

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her eyes averted,
she had obsessed

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Val from that first
moment weeks ago,

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when she had stumbled
in with Davis, something

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concealed in her gaze.

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And then last night, her
suddenly stepping into him,

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fitting her mouth to his.

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Now, 65 miles off the
North Carolina coast,

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nostrils packed with
blood-stiffened cotton,

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Val felt his broken nose throb.

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Davis wasn't talking to him.

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With none of the sometime
cat-and-mouse stalking

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of the Blue Marlin, the
strike came without warning.

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Magnus, jerked off balance,
recovered and braced himself

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in the fighting chair, the reel
screaming is the marlin ran.

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Voice breathless and
tightening with adrenaline,

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he yelled, "crash strike!"

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Val looked up at the bridge.

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The captain nodded
that he'd seen it,

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the marlin stripping off line.

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Val checked the cockpit.

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The wash-down hose was coiled
and hung up, gaff ropes,

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leaders, baits,
everything put away,

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the deck cleared
for safe footing.

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Davis adjusted the
brim of his visor,

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then reached into
his back pocket

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and pulled on his gloves.

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Val swung Magnus's chair in
the direction of the fish,

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waiting for its first
spectacular leaps.

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Surprisingly, the marlin
didn't jump, but, fighting

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like a tuna, dogged it.

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Magnus quickly worked
it closer to the boat.

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The swivel reached the rod tip.

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Davis took hold of
the 30-foot leader

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and, wrapping the piano wire
around his gloved hands,

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two wraps on each
hand, he braced himself

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against the gunwale and began to
raise the fish to the surface.

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Val divided his attention
between Davis and the water,

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waiting for the fish to appear.

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He marveled at Davis's
strength, the pole vaulter's

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powerful hands and the massive
deeply cut forearm muscles.

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He'd felt those hands close
on his throat last night,

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before he found
himself on the ground.

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Now it was like watching a
great athlete climb a rope,

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only the rope was a wire,
slippery, razor-thin, almost

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impossible to grip.

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With each pull, Davis
retrieved more leader,

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then passed it behind
himself and wrapped each hand

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twice more, bringing
the fish to the surface.

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No matter how many
times he'd done this,

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Val never got over the
sense of wonder and beauty

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he felt when he saw
marlin rising from below.

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Now he could see
its pectoral fins,

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each of the iridescent neon blue
of anger, a color you never saw

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on a tired or beaten marlin.

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The mackerel bait was
on the fish's back,

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right behind the highest
part of the dorsal fin.

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Gary, the captain, yelled
down to Val, "too small.

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That's definitely no keeper.

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Cut it loose now, or
do you want to tag it?

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You make the call.

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Only take a couple
of minutes to tag."

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Val picked up the pole with
the barbed tag in place.

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This Marlin was
nowhere near as big

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as the one Magnus had taken
yesterday and probably

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weighed less than the
tournament's 300-pound minimum.

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Either way, it wasn't a keeper.

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Most everyone
conservation-minded

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tagged the smaller ones
before letting them go.

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"We'll tag it," he called.

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"Can you handle that, Davis?"

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Davis didn't answer.

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As Val extended the barbed
tag toward the fish's back,

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he saw the round,
black eye move.

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The Marlin turned quickly,
and it darted away

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from the transom.

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Davis pointed his
hands toward the fish

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and let go of the
leader, the wire

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wraps falling cleanly and
freely off his gloves.

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Magnus said, "we can
cut him loose now,

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save everyone time and trouble.

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With that hook in his
back, he's battling

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like a much bigger fish."

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Val asked Davis, "can you
bring him up one time?

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We'll get that
tag in him quick."

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Davis didn't answer.

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Val shouted above the
engines and sudden scream

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of the reel, "Davis!"

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Davis reached out and grabbed
the wire leader to him.

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Wrap by wrap, pull by pull,
he brought the marlin back

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to the surface and
close to the boat.

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Val leaned overboard and
pushed the tagging pole

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toward the fish.

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The marlin darted
forward and turned,

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sending up an
explosion of spray.

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This time, Davis didn't
let go of the wire,

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but held on as the marlin
shot away from the stern.

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Val yelled, "we'll
cut him loose."

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Val dropped the pole
on the deck behind him.

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He was surprised to see Davis
keep hold of the leader, knees

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braced against the gunwale.

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He yelled at Davis to let go.

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Davis shouted something back,
but Val couldn't make it out.

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"Let him go, Davis.

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Let go of the leader."

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Val unsheathed his wire cutters.

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As he extended their open
mouth toward the wire,

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there was a sudden
squeal of deck shoes,

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the sound of someone pivoting
on a basketball court.

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Davis staggered against the
board that covered the transom.

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There was a loud crack.

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Davis went headfirst
into the water.

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He surfaced, pushed the sun
visor back from his eyes,

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started to turn toward the boat.

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Suddenly, he was pulled down.

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Val rushed to the transom.

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Davis was just
below the surface,

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with his hands
together, outstretched.

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Neither panic nor struggling,
he seemed to be swimming.

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But when he didn't
surface in another moment,

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Gary yelled from the bridge,
"Magnus, pull him back up!"

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Gary threw the boat
into reverse, water

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boiling under the transom, as
Magnus pumped the rod once,

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twice.

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The Blue Marlin was
just below Davis,

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rose with him
toward the surface.

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Frantic, Val grabbed the rod and
helped Magnus pull it upward,

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Magnus cranking the real.

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Davis and the fish were
right beneath them.

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"Stop," Val yelled.

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"Neutral, neutral.

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Watch the propellers!

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You'll back over them!"

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Val heard the engines
go into neutral.

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Val and Magnus
pulled up on the rod,

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which suddenly lost tension
and threw them backward.

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The wire leader had
snapped at a kink

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a few feet below the swivel.

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Val staggered forward and
looked into the water,

00:07:21.790 --> 00:07:26.230 align:middle line:84%
expecting to see Davis
rise to the surface.

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Davis and the marlin
were free of the rod,

00:07:29.350 --> 00:07:31.690 align:middle line:84%
but the hook was still
in the marlin's back,

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and Davis was still
wired to the fish.

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Val dove, and
swimming awkwardly--

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shoes on, clothes on--

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he moved five, 10 feet below
the surface, driving his legs.

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Reaching out, he
grabbed for Davis,

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gathered a handful of
his shirt, but suddenly

00:07:50.290 --> 00:07:52.975 align:middle line:84%
his grip was ripped open
as Davis was yanked away.

00:07:52.975 --> 00:07:55.810 align:middle line:90%


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Val broke the surface with
a painful gasp for air,

00:07:59.020 --> 00:08:01.270 align:middle line:90%
took another deep breath.

00:08:01.270 --> 00:08:04.390 align:middle line:84%
Below him, he could see
Davis and the marlin glowing

00:08:04.390 --> 00:08:07.570 align:middle line:84%
iridescent in the sunlight,
where the clear blue water gave

00:08:07.570 --> 00:08:08.950 align:middle line:90%
way to black.

00:08:08.950 --> 00:08:12.490 align:middle line:84%
He stripped off his shoes and
took another enormous breath

00:08:12.490 --> 00:08:17.620 align:middle line:84%
and, driving his legs harder,
pulling with his arms, he dove.

00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:20.260 align:middle line:84%
He swam deeper this
time, ears and sinuses

00:08:20.260 --> 00:08:23.380 align:middle line:90%
aching, lungs starting to burn.

00:08:23.380 --> 00:08:25.360 align:middle line:90%
He swam deeper.

00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:26.950 align:middle line:84%
Beneath him, Davis
and the marlin

00:08:26.950 --> 00:08:29.770 align:middle line:84%
got smaller and
smaller, shimmering

00:08:29.770 --> 00:08:32.950 align:middle line:84%
into a deeper
twilight blue, then

00:08:32.950 --> 00:08:35.799 align:middle line:90%
disappeared into the black.

00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:39.190 align:middle line:84%
Lungs bursting, Val
looked up, surfaced

00:08:39.190 --> 00:08:44.010 align:middle line:84%
distant, the sun
huge and undulating.

00:08:44.010 --> 00:08:45.000 align:middle line:90%