Stranded (A Samantha Starr Thriller, Book 4)

by S. L. Menear

  Tall and toned, SEAL Commander George Bern entered the bridge. “Yes, Captain?”

  Rowlin explained the situation. “Gather your SEALs on the port rail armed with flare guns and as many flares as you can find. When the sub breaks the surface, fire flares into the kraken so it’ll release them.” Rowlin glanced at the sea. “Hurry!”

  George raced from the bridge.

  “Brilliant!” Lowes said. “As soon as the giant squid is clear of the sub, we’ll blast it with our deck cannons.”

  Rowlin, Lowes, and Peterson scanned the placid sea from the bridge.

  Nothing.

  Ten minutes later, a comm officer entered the bridge and handed Rowlin a message.

  “Sonofabitch!” Rowlin said after he read it. “Texas hit the kraken with an active ping to verify its exact location, and the squid dove to two thousand feet clutching the Iranian sub. Texas’s sonar operator recorded sounds of Ghadir 962 imploding.”

  It wasn’t long before flotsam from the destroyed Iranian sub littered the surface.

  “XO, you have the conn,” Rowlin said. “I’m going down to meet with the Scorpion crews.” He waved at Kip. “With me.”

  LIA Flight En Route to HNL

  “Who the hell are you?” Jeff asked.

  “I am Dragon Master.” He glanced behind him. “Tell him, Golden Twin.”

  Sam nudged the old man aside. “It’s okay, Jeff. He’s with me. Is the coast clear?” She wore a baggy mechanic’s uniform, a short black wig, and an orange hardhat.

  “The spooks are gone, and we’re over the Pacific. Come on up.” Jeff moved back.

  Sam started up the ladder and grasped Jeff’s hand when her head emerged above the cockpit floor.

  “Welcome back, Sam,” Lance said over his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “I hope you have a plan that doesn’t involve smuggling this guy into our country,” Jeff said to Sam as he reached down and helped the elderly Chinese man up.

  “Don’t worry, Boss. I called Max, and he said the State Department would have the political asylum paperwork ready by the time we land in Hawaii. His plan is to have Dragon Master help him with Atlantis.” She hugged Jeff. “Thanks for getting me out of China.”

  Jeff’s frown turned to a smile. “Good plan, but will your tattooed buddy go along with it?”

  “I serve Golden Twin now.” Dragon Master bowed. “I will obey her.”

  Jeff raised a brow and faced Sam. “Is he referring to you?”

  “Yep. I look identical to the Atlantean sun goddess, Solraya—hence the name Golden Twin. It was part of an ancient prophecy from Atlantis.” I shrugged. “Lucky me.”

  “Sam! Get your ass over here and give me a hug,” Lance said, half-turned in his seat.

  From where he stood, Jeff was blocking Sam’s view of the copilot. She side-stepped around his tall frame and leaned in for a hug.

  Lance pulled her close. “I was worried sick.” He planted a kiss on the nape of her neck.

  She kissed his cheek. “Thanks for saving my butt again. From now on, anytime you’re drinking, I’m buying.”

  He grinned. “I can live with that.”

  “You can sit here.” Jeff directed the old man to a seat behind Lance and helped him secure his seatbelt.

  The huge modified cockpit had a big closet, a lavatory with a shower, and a sleeping chamber with two bunk beds.

  “Did Cindy bring my uniform and bag aboard?” Sam asked. “I can’t wait to get out of this dirty uniform and itchy wig.”

  Jeff slid into the left seat. “Your things are stowed in the closet. Go ahead and change in the head. When you come out, we’ll order food and drinks.”

  “Great, I’m starved. I missed lunch and dinner.” Sam grabbed her suit bag and slipped into the cockpit lavatory.

  Lance glanced back at Dragon Master. “Welcome aboard and thanks for saving Sam, uh, I mean, Golden Twin.”

  The Chinese man bowed his head. “It is my honor to serve her.”

  Seven

  USS LEVIATHAN

  Two Scorpion submarines were poised over the moon pool, ready for launch. Scorpion One was piloted by Lieutenant Jane Hoebich, a curvaceous five-foot-three blonde expert at mixed martial arts and the only female submarine pilot in Special Operations. Sitting behind her in the tandem seat was her weapons officer, Ensign Scooter McCoy—pale, skinny, and sandy-haired with a slight case of acne.

  Lieutenant Fred Lichten, tall and movie-star handsome with dark-brown eyes and hair, piloted Scorpion Two. His brash weapons officer, Ensign Bull Simmons, was of medium height and had bold hazel eyes, dark hair, broad shoulders, and a barrel chest.

  Both crews were strapped in with their canopies open, awaiting launch orders when Rowlin strode onto the catwalk separating them. “Climb out and join me.” He motioned to where Kip was standing at the edge of the moon pool.

  Rowlin waited until the sub crews were gathered around them. “Our divers are trapped inside the Hall of Records by another sea monster.” He paused. “It’s a hundred-and-sixty-foot giant squid.”

  Jane shook her head. “And we thought the biggest biologic we’d ever see was that eighty-foot megalodon we killed.”

  “Damn, Atlantis has to be the most bizarre place on Earth,” Fred said. “Captain, I don’t think we can use our torpedoes on the squid.”

  “You’re right, torpedoes only work on hard targets, not biologics,” Rowlin said. “We need a plan to save our divers without putting the Scorpions at risk. That beast just destroyed a ninety-five-foot Iranian submarine. Your little boats wouldn’t stand a chance. Any ideas?”

  “How long are the tentacles?” Scooter asked.

  “The two longest ones are the feeder tentacles,” Kip said. “I’d estimate about a hundred and twenty feet. The rest are maybe ninety to one hundred feet long.”

  “That rules out harpoons,” Scooter said. “We’d have to get within fifty feet for an accurate harpoon shot.”

  “Yeah, a longer distance underwater would slow the harpoon too much,” Bull said. “Too bad we can’t get it to move away from the building and then sit still while we drop a depth charge on the bugger.”

  “We don’t have depth charges,” Rowlin said.

  “No, but that gave me an idea,” Kip said. “We can rig an autonomous underwater vehicle with explosives and a remote detonator. If the kraken moves away from the building, we’ll send down the AUV and blast it to bits.”

  “Sounds like a good plan as long as a foreign submarine doesn’t get in the way when it goes boom,” Fred said.

  “The UK won’t be a problem, but China, Russia, and North Korea don’t trust us and probably won’t believe an enormous squid destroyed the Iranian sub,” Rowlin said. “They’ll think we’re trying to trick them into leaving.”

  “I can see how this could easily start a war if we’re not careful,” Jane said. “Why don’t we use the ROVs to verify nobody is near when we detonate the AUV?”

  “Alright, Jane and Scooter will help Kip and his techs operate the remote vehicles, while SEALs rig the autonomous vehicle with explosives and a remote detonator,” Rowlin said. “Fred, you and Bull standby in Scorpion Two to bring up our divers when the coast is clear.”

  “Uh, Captain,” Bull said, “what if there’s more than one giant squid down there? We all remember what happened with the megalodons.” He turned to Jane and Scooter, and they nodded.

  Rowlin said, “Well, Kip, you’re the expert. What are the chances there’s more than one?”

  “The odds for one squid that size are almost zero. But it’s there. And don’t forget there were three megalodons, even though one should’ve been impossible.” Peterson shrugged. “There’s no way to predict whether more krakens are down there.”

  “Well…shit!” Bull said.

  “I have an idea,” Jane said. “Kip, does a giant squid have any natural enemies? Another sea creature it’s afraid of?”

  “Sure, sperm whales feed on normal-sized gian
t squids, but there aren’t any nearby.”

  “What if we rig our Scorpions with loudspeakers that can broadcast sounds made by sperm whales?” Jane asked. “Could that work?”

  “Maybe, as long as the squid doesn’t see how small your subs are,” Kip said. “I have recordings of sperm whales stored on my computer.”

  “Good idea, Jane,” Rowlin said. “Kip, get someone to copy the sperm whale sounds onto two flash drives while you get busy finding that kraken. Killing it is priority one. You all have your orders. Get going and keep me informed.”

  Two divers in foreign-made atmospheric dive suits eased through the entrance door and shined their bright lights around the Hall of Records. Large flags consisting of three equal horizontal fields of white, blue, and red were emblazoned on their front torsos.

  “Russian divers,” Banger said, recognizing the flags. “The kraken must be dead.”

  Vicky waved at the divers. “Thank God! They must be here to save us.”

  The Russians pointed high-powered spear guns at the American divers.

  Vicky froze. “Why are they aiming at us?”

  Just as the Russians fired, a huge tentacle yanked them out of the building.

  “Holy shit!” Banger yelled as ballistic spears impacted the wall, barely missing them.

  An inky substance filled the building.

  “Our lights can’t penetrate that black water,” Vicky said, her voice shaky. “No way to see if it’s coming.”

  “Keep still and hang onto the chain,” he said. “The water will clear eventually.”

  “That monster squirted its ink in here because it doesn’t want us to see its tentacle when it reaches in and grabs us!” Her voice had risen to a panicked pitch.

  “Squids release ink to hide from enemies,” he said. “Our shipmates must be attacking it. Relax. They’ll have us out of here soon.”

  Not believing his own words, Banger held the rotary cutter and prayed it would be powerful enough to save them—assuming his internal battery wasn’t too depleted.

  As he struggled to see through the inky water, he thought, I hate this friggin’ city!

  Kip controlled the first remote-operated vehicle sent into the depths, SEAL Commander George Bern operated the second one, and Jane and Scooter operated the last two.

  “Besides worrying about the kraken, we have to safeguard our tethers from being ensnared by submarines cruising around us,” Kip said. “Texas and the British sub Audacious are steering clear as requested, but we can’t count on the Russian, Chinese, and North Korean subs to do the same.”

  “Commander Bern, you have a call on the interphone,” the PA system announced.

  George picked up the handset.

  “Bern here.” He listened a few moments.

  “Understood.” He scanned the small group. “That was the captain. He said Russia and Cuba just sent in spy ships disguised as fishing trawlers. They’re not buying our story about the sea monster, which means all the commie subs are still cruising around down there.”

  Kip shrugged. “Let’s hope they don’t learn the truth the hard way. The sooner we find the kraken, the better.” He focused on his video screen as his ROV neared the ancient city. “I’m directing mine to the Hall of Records since that’s the squid’s most likely location.”

  As his little robotic vehicle neared the building, the video feed became clouded by an inky substance in the water.

  “Uh oh!” Kip said. “The big guy released an ink cloud. Visibility just went to zero.”

  Seconds later, something yanked the line so hard the tether was severed.

  “Shit!” Kip said. “The kraken just destroyed my remote vessel.”

  “We can’t detonate the autonomous vehicle until we lure the squid away from the building our divers are in,” George said. “Any suggestions?”

  “Do we have something noisy we could drop in the water to lure it to the surface?” Jane asked.

  Scooter glanced at the marine biologist. “Would a sonic buoy work, Kip?”

  “That would get its attention. Let’s see if it’ll draw it away from our divers. Use your ROV to observe from a distance.” He nodded to George. “Advise the captain to ready the deck cannons in case we get a clean shot.”

  Ten minutes later, Rowlin watched from the bridge as the crew deployed a high-pitched sonic buoy. Scooter’s remote vessel tracked it from twenty yards aft as the current pushed the buoy away from Leviathan. A screen in the bridge displayed the video feed. Rowlin ordered the ship’s cannons trained on the buoy.

  Jane called the bridge. Her tense voice filled the overhead speakers. “Captain, the Russians must’ve deployed divers from their submarine. I’m sending an image to your video screen.”

  The bridge video monitor displayed a split-screen view of two crumpled dive suits with Russian flags on the fronts. Cables were still attached, and a dark liquid trailed from cracks in the metal.

  “Jane, follow the crushed divers with your remote vehicle and see if the Russian sub reels them in,” Rowlin said.

  Scooter’s voice boomed over the bridge speakers. “Captain, the kraken’s coming!”

  Rowlin trained his binoculars on the buoy. “Looks like we’ll get a chance to smoke its ass after all.”

  “Maybe not.” Lowes put his hand on Rowlin’s shoulder and pointed at a Russian spy trawler racing toward them.

  “Dammit! XO, tell our radio operator to get them the hell out of here,” Rowlin said as he picked up the interphone and called the weapons control officer. “Hold fire until that trawler clears the area.”

  As the spy boat neared the buoy, huge tentacles thrashed the water, sending spray in every direction. They snaked around the trawler and pulled it under, fracturing its fiberglass hull and shattering it into pieces. Crewmen screamed as the beast plucked them off the surface and fed them into its huge beak, chomping them to bits. Blood and guts oiled the roiling surface. Another tentacle crushed the sonic buoy, and it sank.

  The carnage took less than a minute, leaving a scattering of severed limbs, sections of ragged fiberglass, and debris bobbing on the gently rolling waves.

  Scooter had recorded the kraken’s rapid attack and followed it downward as Rowlin and Lowes watched from the bridge.

  Rowlin scanned the area with his binoculars and spotted two survivors struggling to grab hold of floating debris.

  George hurried onto the bridge. “Captain, my SEALs have a boat with a deck-mounted .50-cal ready to launch. Should I order them to pick up the survivors?”

  “Hell no! I won’t risk our people for those friggin’ Russians. Fire ballistic rescue buoys at them and pull them in.”

  “Aye, Captain.” He rushed from the bridge.

  Rowlin called Kip on the interphone. “As soon as the survivors are rescued and we ensure the Cuban trawler stays clear, we’ll launch another sonic buoy.”

  “Understood, Captain. Scooter is following the kraken on video. We’ll call if it takes the bait again.”

  Rowlin watched his crew reel in the survivors from the Russian trawler. “XO, arrange for those men to be transferred to the Cuban trawler, and make sure they warn their commie buddies to stay the hell away from here so we can shoot the kraken.”

  “Aye, Captain.” The XO called the radio operator and gave the orders.

  Thirty minutes later, the Cuban trawler pulled alongside Leviathan and picked up the Russian sailors.

  Rowlin watched them pull away. He waited until they were a mile out on a course away from his ship. “Good riddance.” He picked up the interphone. “Launch another sonic buoy.”

  Rowlin and Lowes scanned the sea. Gentle rollers belied what lurked beneath.

  Scooter’s voice boomed on the bridge speakers. “It’s on the move, heading for the surface.”

  Rowlin grabbed the interphone. “Fire the cannons as soon as it comes into view.” His eyes riveted on the sea, he watched and waited.

  Nothing.

  Scooter’s voice filled the
bridge speakers. “Captain, big problem! Check the video screen.”

  The North Korean sub had wandered into the path of the ascending squid. It wrapped itself around the Sang-O Class Shark submarine, which was about sixty feet shorter than the sea monster.

  Its massive body and tentacles obscured most of the submarine on the video. After churning the water and tumbling around with the stricken boat, the giant squid succeeded in pulling the North Korean sub to the bottom, well beyond the boat’s crush depth.

  When the submarine imploded, the bone-crushing pressure at depth compressed the crew into a gelatinous mush. Small bits of buoyant, interior materials were the only things that reached the surface, forming a spotty debris field.

  Rowlin swore under his breath. “Launch another sonic buoy. This time, make sure there aren’t any small boats nearby.”

  Jane’s voice filled the bridge speakers. “Captain, I have video of the Russian nuclear sub, Kazan, reeling in their divers. That sub is huge—almost as big as Leviathan.”

  “I guess they’ll start believing us now that the giant squid has killed their divers and destroyed their spy trawler,” Rowlin said. “Good work, Jane. Save that video.”

  “Aye, Captain. I also saved some closeup views of the crushed Russian divers in inky water near the Hall of Records.”

  “I’ll review the footage later.” Rowlin looked up at the live video screen. It was blank. He called Scooter on the interphone. “Where’s the kraken?”

  “It vanished into the depths, sir. My ROV wasn’t able to match its speed.”

  Eight

  LIA Flight to HNL

  After changing into my airline uniform, I flew the rest of the flight to Hawaii from the left seat, and Jeff observed from a seat behind me. He kept one eye on Dragon Master, seated behind Lance, who’d stayed in the copilot seat and answered all the radio calls.

  I didn’t say anything to Jeff about Lance’s steamy kiss on the floating restaurant, which had been necessary to hide me. Better to forget the whole thing now that we were out of China. Besides, it was obvious Lance had been worried about me. He really was protecting me. But what had happened that made him stop trying to seduce me? It was like he was a different person now. Better, actually.