CHAPTER TWENTY
“Coast Guard just reported finding five bodies in the gulf, about fifty miles out. All appear to be victims of the storm,” said Duncan. “One was a child.”
“Fuck,” muttered Luke. “A child?”
“A girl. Approximately five or six years old.”
“Shit,” muttered Eric. “Let us know when they have her identified. She might belong to a family member in the area. No one has reported a child missing but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“It gets worse,” said Duncan. “Weather reports say that the rain won’t be delicate and it’s coming back faster than expected. It was out there over those warm damn waters just brewing itself up for us.”
“Another hurricane?” frowned Eric.
“No. Tropical storm at best but it can potentially destroy what’s left of this area.”
“Garrett? Nash?” called Luke into the sea of faces in the auditorium.
“Here,” they said in unison.
“I know we’re asking a lot but is there any way to contain this?”
“Contain Mother Nature? Doubtful if our abilities can do that,” said Garrett. “But. And this is a big ‘but’. We may be able to redirect it further south back into the gulf. The danger of that could be that it builds more strength. The non-danger is that it might disperse with enough wind.”
“I feel as though we need to try,” said Cam. “What do you guys think?”
“If we do this,” said Nash, “we need to be in the storm itself. Do you understand what we’re saying?”
“That’s too dangerous,” said Luke. “I will not authorize that.”
“Luke, we can use the submersible. It should be able to get us deep enough that it won’t be effected by the storm and still allow us to have a view of what’s happening at the surface. The challenge will be that someone has to man that damn contraption and we don’t have that skill,” said Garrett.
“Shit,” muttered Luke. “I can man it. So can most of the SEALs here. Anyone else?”
“Me,” said Montana stepping forward.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not!” yelled Luc. “You will not go out there!”
“Luc, you’ve been married to me for a very long time. When did ordering me around ever work for you?” She gave her husband a smirk and a kiss. “Let me man the submersible with a SEAL. I know the machine better than anyone since I was the engineer that designed it.”
“I’ll go with her,” said Ryan stepping forward. “I was an engineer on the project as well. It holds five people. Me, Montana, Garrett, Nash and one SEAL.”
“Me,” said Mo. “I deployed from subs on more missions than just about anyone in this room. I know the submersible isn’t a submarine but it operates in the same way. Garrett, Nash, and I can take the diver propulsion vehicles and hit the surface. It will be rocky and rough but we’ll manage.”
Luke paced back and forth at the front of the room, Cam staring at his friend. They were both SEALs and they knew the extreme danger of this but if they didn’t do something to prevent the next rainstorm, the results would be absolute desolation of the area.
“Luke, we can do this,” said Nash. “We’ll be okay and we’ll make sure to come back alive. You have our word.”
“I’m not sure that’s something you can promise,” said Luke.
“No, but I can,” said Matthew. “Leave them to me. They’ll return.”
“See. Divine protection,” smirked Garrett.
“Don’t get cocky. Even grandpa has his limits.” Luke stared at his grandfather, his trademark smirk and twinkling eyes telling him all he needed to know.
“Alright. The five of you.”