Chapter 37
Flynn’s enthusiasm might have outweighed his ability. I convinced him to sit this one out. I donned a wetsuit, shouldered the rebreather we had taken from Trask, and put on a mask.
"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Flynn said. "I can do this."
"I got this,” I assured.
I entered the lockout chamber, sealed the hatch, then opened the bottom hatch.
I plunged into the cold water, and it took a moment to adjust to the shock of it.
I cleared my mask and finned toward the Triton.
The exertion helped keep my core temperature up.
My quads burned, and my heart pumped. With a flashlight leading the way, I reached the Triton after several minutes.
I disconnected two battery packs, grabbed the handles, and yanked them from their seat. They weren’t light by any stretch of the imagination, but manageable. My hands were already growing numb.
I swam back to the Neptune, swapped them out, then swam back to the Triton to get another set. The second trip was harder than the first.
I grabbed the batteries and made the return trip. They had negative buoyancy, and I dropped one on the way back. With numb hands, I wrestled it from the seabed and returned to the Neptune.
With less dexterity than I had before, I swapped out battery packs, then returned to the lockout.
I climbed from the water and sealed the bottom hatch.
I pulled off my fins and mask and ditched the rebreather, shaking.
Shaking was good. It was early stage. Your body’s way of increasing temperature.
When people stop shivering, it’s a bad sign, indicating late-stage hypothermia.
At that stage, they are more susceptible to cardiac events as toxins build up in the extremities.
I opened the hatch to the main compartment and staggered in. I gave Jack a thumbs up as I grabbed a thermal blanket.
He powered up the system, and the dash came alive.
There were cheers and high-fives all around.
“You sure you’re alright?”
I nodded, muscling through it.
I peeled out of my wetsuit and wrapped myself in the thermal blanket.
Jack throttled up and lifted the Neptune from the seabed. He banked the craft around and headed back toward the habitat. We floated over the sunken enemy submersible. There were no markings on it, and nothing to indicate any of the occupants had escaped. It was another watery grave.
I kept watch on the sonar the entire way. I was looking forward to a hot meal and a hot shower.
Almost an hour later, the lights of the habitat came into view.
I grabbed the mic and keyed it. "Neptune to Oceanus, do you copy?”
There was no response.
I tried again, and still nothing. Maybe the AquaLink system was down.
"I don't like this," I said. "Circle around the habitat.”
Jack knew what I was thinking.
"Oceanus, this is Neptune, do you copy?"
Jack angled the mini-sub around to the control room. Through the massive porthole, we got a look inside. Several hostiles dressed in black tactical gear with assault rifles had taken control of the habitat. They held the crew hostage.
Dread twisted my stomach, but it didn't totally surprise me. I knew there were other hostiles in the area. In the back of my mind, I had considered this very possibility.
An ominous voice crackled back through the speaker in an Eastern European accent. "Neptune, I see you have returned to base.”
"Who is this?" I asked.
"Who I am is none of your concern. It's what I want.”
"What do you want?”
"You have something that doesn't belong to you. If you return it, I will let the hostages go, and you can go about your business.”
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, playing dumb.
"You see, I've lost contact with my team. The last communication I had with them warned of trouble.”
"I'm sorry to hear that. There are a lot of things that can go wrong at this depth.”
"Indeed. The problem I have at the moment is that you have taken property that doesn’t belong to you."
"I still don't know what you're talking about.”
"Perhaps if I kill one of the hostages, you will develop a certain clarity.”
"That's not necessary.”
"I thought you'd see it that way." He paused. "I suspect you can confirm that my team is not returning."
I said nothing.
"I see we’re still having a communication barrier.
I know you recovered items from the Silent Dragon.
I know my people tried to engage your craft.
The last communication I received from them was that they had fired a torpedo at your sub.
Is that correct?” After a brief pause, he said, "Answer truthfully, or I will kill a hostage.”
"This submarine is not equipped with any weapons. How your team’s submarine ended up at the bottom of the ocean has nothing to do with me. Piece of advice, don't use acoustically targeted light torpedoes. They can come back to haunt you.”
He was silent for a long moment. "That's too bad. But it's a cost of doing business. My hope is that we can resolve this situation without any further loss of life.”
"That would be ideal. How do we do that?"
"It's very simple. You hand over any and all materials that you have recovered from the Silent Dragon.
That way, my employer can feel secure, knowing that their technology will remain proprietary.
It's very simple. I have no ill will towards you or the crew of the habitat. We are all just unfortunate pawns in a larger game. Circumstances beyond our control have brought us all together. Once I have the materials in my possession, you can go about your business, and I can go about mine.”
"You think no one else is going to go looking for that sub?” I asked.
He laughed. "I anticipate it, and so does my employer. That's why they've instructed me to destroy the Silent Dragon.”
"That submarine has 24 nuclear missiles on it.”
"We wouldn’t want those to fall into the wrong hands, would we?”
"How do you plan on destroying the sub?”
"Don't worry, conventional explosives won't cause a nuclear detonation. Those warheads are built with safety features to prevent such a thing.”
"A conventional bomb could scatter nuclear material, creating a dirty bomb, contaminating the area."
"I'm glad you're so concerned about the environment. But the destruction will be minimal. There is no cause for concern.”
"Oh, well, if you say so," I snarked.
He laughed. "I'm just doing a job. We all have to earn a living, don't we?”
"Some do it in more respectable ways than others.”
"Oh, I think this is a perfectly respectable way to earn a living. And seeing how I'm on the clock right now, I'd like to go ahead and get this over with. Bring whatever you’ve recovered to me, then I will leave.”
"What assurances do I have that you will keep your word?”
"You’re not really in a position to negotiate. Should I kill one hostage right now to prove I mean business?”
The goon grabbed one of the hostages and marched over to the large porthole. He put a gun to Elana’s head. Her face twisted with torment. Tears streamed down her cheeks.