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“What about Admiral Petkov?” Matt asked.
The man nudged the prisoner. Weak with terror and loss of blood, he fell on his side, afraid even to lower his hands to catch himself. “He says that the admiral fled into Level Four. But so far, we’ve not found him. The prisoner might be lying. He may need a little encouragement.”
Before the matter could be addressed, Sergeant Conrad approached from his examination of the nuclear bomb.
Craig turned his full attention toward the man. “Well?”
The soldier shook his head. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. As far as I can tell, it’s a low-yield nuclear device. Minimal radiation risk. But it’s certainly no standard bomb. I’m guessing more of a disrupter of some type. Like the EM-pulse weapons under development. The explosive capability is small for a nuclear weapon, but its energy could generate a massive pulse. But I don’t think it’s an electromagnetic pulse. Something else. I don’t know what.”
Matt interrupted his report. “You said the explosion would be small. That’s the part I want to know about. How small?”
He was answered with a shrug. “Small for a nuclear device. But it’ll crack this island like a hard-boiled egg. If it blows, we’re all dead, no matter what pulse it sends out.”
“Can you deactivate it?”
The sergeant shook his head. “The trigger is based on subsonics. It’s tied to an external detonator. Unless we can get the abort code to turn this thing off, this baby’s going to blow in”—he checked his watch—“in fifty-five minutes.”
Craig rubbed his left temple. “Then we need to find the admiral. He’s our only chance.” His gaze settled on the frightened youth at his feet. He nodded to the soldier who had kicked the man. “Find out what he knows.”
The prisoner must have understood. He babbled in Russian, terrified, his hands still on his head.
Matt stepped between the prisoner and the soldier. “Don’t bother. I can find Petkov. I know where he must be holed up.”
Craig turned to him. “Where?”
“Down on Level Four. I’ll have to show you.”
Craig narrowed his eyes, glancing between the youth and the shaft. “All right. I doubt this fellow knows anything anyway.” He pulled out his pistol and shot the man in the head.
The retort was loud in the silent station. Skull, brains, and blood splattered across the floor.
“Jesus Christ!” Matt yelled, stumbling back as the blast echo died. “Why did you do that?”
Craig’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t play me for a fool, Matt. You know why.” He headed toward the shaft, waving for a pair of soldiers to flank him. “It’s either us or them. Pick sides and let’s go.”
Matt remained frozen but stared toward Je
The gunshot had sent the boy into another bout of wailing. Je
Matt stepped over and leaned down, hugging them both. “Go,” she whispered, defying her own heart’s desire. She wanted him to stay with them. “But watch your back.”
A small nod. He understood her. The biggest danger right now was the bomb. Once that was nullified, they’d find some way to survive both the Russians and the Delta Force strike team.
Matt stood, shouldering his rifle.
Je
Then they were gone. Two guards watched the shaft. Otherwise she was alone with the gently sobbing boy. She comforted him, as she had not been able to comfort Tyler. She ran fingers through his hair, whispered wordless sounds to soothe.
Across the way, the two guards by the stairs talked softly together. There was no more gunfire, no more explosions. Smoke still hazed the level. Through the oily fog, the lone beacon still shone, beating like a titanium heart, counting down.
As she cradled the boy, a voice whispered behind her, ghostly and vague. She was not even sure she heard it. Then her name was spoken.
“Je
She cautiously glanced behind her. She did not recognize the voice. It came from an overturned set of electronics.
“Je
Perry stood in the communication shack by the bridge. He spoke into the UQC underwater telephone. “If you can hear me, move toward the sound of my voice.”
As he waited, he switched to the shipboard intercom. He hailed the Cyclops chamber. “John, can Amanda see Je
A short pause, then an answer came through. “Yes!” He heard a father’s hope in the man’s voice.
For the past five minutes, they had waited, spying with the DeepEye until Je
“Je
Perry waited, praying. He didn’t know what help they could offer, but he needed to know the situation in the station to formulate a plan.
The line remained quiet.
C’mon…we need some break. A bit of luck.
The silence stretched.
Je
So far the two guards remained busy with their own discussion. She kept one arm around little Maki, not wanting to attract attention.
The captain’s voice returned. “There must be a problem at your end. But we’re monitoring all means of communication coming from the station. We have all our ears up. You simply need to find a radio of any sort. Even a walkie-talkie. Our ears are very good out here. Get to it. But don’t let any of the Delta team see you.”
Je
“Just know we’re watching you. We’ll do what we can to help.”
She listened to his confidence, but it shed from her like water off a seal’s fur. Even if she could reach a radio, what good would it do? How could they help?
She stared at the blue lights circling around and around the titanium sphere. A sense of despair and hopelessness settled over her. She was too tired to fight any longer. She had been up almost two days straight. The constant terror and tension had burned all substance from her. She felt hollow and empty.
Then a new voice whispered from the tiny speaker. “Je
“Amanda…” She was naming a ghost.
“I have someone who wants to speak to you.”
There was a pause during which Je
“Honey…Jen…”
Tears flowed, filling the hollow space in her heart. “Papa!”
Her outburst drew the guards’ attention. She leaned over the boy, speaking to him, covering her mistake.
Behind her, her father spoke to her…alive! “Do as Captain Perry says,” he urged her. “We won’t leave you.”
Je