Stranded (A Samantha Starr Thriller, Book 4)

by S. L. Menear

  “Good. We must find Samantha Starr and learn her government’s secrets.”

  USS LEVIATHAN

  “Where the hell is she?” Rowlin stood beside Bern as they watched the kraken deposit huge rectangular storage containers made of gold onto the deck nearby.

  “She must be down there, directing the beast to bring up all the vaults.”

  Rowlin yelled to the deck crew, “As soon as the squid dives underwater, cover that cargo with tarps.”

  Bern’s SEALs had pulled the divers out of the Hardsuits with seconds to spare. Banger and Vicky sat on deck chairs with blankets wrapped around them, trembling but not wanting to miss the kraken spectacle. Wide-eyed, they sipped orange juice from a safe distance and watched the deck activity as Rowlin stood nearby.

  “She’d better come up with the last four.” Rowlin ran his hand over his blond buzz cut, pacing. “Man, if she doesn’t come back, I don’t know what we’ll do.”

  A crewmember rushed up and handed Rowlin a printed message.

  He swore under his breath. “Sonar’s got Kazan sitting on the bottom near the Hall of Records, and they heard a hatch open. Could be they sent in divers.”

  Rowlin snatched up the interphone and called CIC. “Send a message to Texas. Tell them to intimidate that Russian sub any way short of starting a war. We need a little help to get our diver away from there.”

  Rowlin watched the kraken slip beneath the surface. “It’d better get her out of there fast.”

  The Russian divers flanked me and aimed their weapons. I hit my thrusters and shot straight up. Their ballistic spears brushed my inner thighs. Their next shots wouldn’t miss. To buy time, I circled around the far side of Poseidon’s huge statue.

  I looked down as the Russians took positions on my right and left front. Where the hell was my kraken buddy? I knew I shouldn’t have been gulping air, but I couldn’t help it.

  The divers looked up at me and aimed their spears at my torso.

  At that moment, a huge tentacle snaked into the room and snared their cables. It yanked hard just as they fired. Both spears flashed by, barely missing me. My protector pulled them into its grasp as they desperately stabbed and kicked at its tentacle. In one quick movement, it crushed their suits and dragged them out of the building, leaving behind a dark cloud of blood and guts.

  It was a horrifying display of gore—but better them than me. I struggled to get my panicked breathing under control. I felt sick but managed to stop myself from puking inside the suit.

  The kraken gathered the four remaining vaults. I was terrified to have it grab me again after witnessing what it had done to the Russians, so I wrapped my arms and legs around Poseidon’s upper torso and commanded the beast to yank the statue off its five-foot base and carry it and me to the ship.

  Bad idea. When it jerked the statue off the base, it severed Poseidon’s ankles, leaving the statue’s feet secured to the base and sending me tumbling backwards. I recovered and thrusted back to the statue just as the tentacle pulled it through the door. I grabbed the mythical god’s head and then hooked my arms under his arms. My feet scraped the doorjamb on the way out.

  Outside the building, I spotted two huge submarines facing off in what looked like a game of chicken.

  This was a good time to say goodbye to Atlantis.

  I watched the city recede in a blur of rushing water as we sped to the surface. My heart raced as the monster plunked the statue onto the deck, pinning me beneath Poseidon’s head and upper torso. My squid buddy vanished into the depths before I could think of what to do, and I didn’t want to risk calling it back.

  Crewmen swarmed the statue and rolled it off me. It was a relief to feel strong hands pulling me out of that claustrophobia-inducing metal prison.

  I stood on wobbly legs and wrapped my arms around Commander Bern. Shivering like a victim of extreme cold, I was actually soaked in sweat. “Don’t let go,” I said.

  George held me close. “You’re okay now. The kraken’s gone.”

  “I’m alive, but I’m definitely not okay. I feel like I’ll never stop shaking.”

  “Relax and take some slow, deep breaths.” He rubbed my back.

  “I don’t suppose you have any red wine on this tub? I could use a drink to calm my nerves.”

  “No wine, but the captain has some incredibly smooth forty-year-old Scotch the Brits gave him. Will that do?”

  “Uh, no hard liquor. My stomach is already queasy.” I loosened my grip and looked up at him. “Do you have a fitness center on board? Maybe a hard workout will burn off the adrenaline.”

  “We do—a good one. Our captain likes his crew to keep fit.” George accepted a towel from a crewman and wrapped it around me.

  Max put his hand on my shoulder. “You okay, Sam?”

  “She wants to use our gym. Take the edge off.”

  “Sam, first I need to ask, did you see any Russian divers when you were down there?”

  “Yeah, and the bastards tried to kill me.” I sucked in my breath, trying to erase the carnage from my memory. “The monster saved me from them. It wasn’t pretty.”

  “It crushed them?” Max asked.

  “Well, the water pressure crushed them after the beast cracked open their suits. Nothing left but a gory gelatinous mush and crumpled metal still attached to cables. I assumed they came from the Russian sub that was playing chicken with ours.”

  “When the crew reels them in, maybe they’ll finally believe us about the giant squid,” Max said.

  “Maybe not,” I said. “There’s nothing left there that would prove the squid did it.”

  “They might assume their guys lost the battle with our divers,” George said.

  “The survivors from that Russian spy ship saw the kraken sink it,” Max said. “They must’ve reported it.”

  “In any case, I suggest you make it your number one priority to get those vaults onto U.S. soil before our enemies realize what you have on deck,” I said to Max.

  “The gold alone would pay down a sizeable portion of our national debt,” George said.

  “The crew covered them with tarps as soon as they hit the deck,” Max said. “I have one major task remaining. Do a quick workout and meet me in the conference room in thirty minutes. An ensign will show you the way.”

  I glanced at my DOXA dive watch. “See you in thirty.”

  After a brief, hard work-out and a hot shower, I put on jeans and a T-shirt. I had just texted Ross that I was alive and well when an ensign arrived to escort me to a conference room.

  I still felt shaky. Massive amounts of adrenaline will do that. It had all happened so fast I hadn’t had time to really think about what I was doing. If I had, I probably would’ve talked myself out of it—but then Leviathan’s divers would be dead.

  Dragon Master, Max, and George sat at a long, rectangular table with a white-haired guy who looked like a Viking, an African-American man built like a chiseled block of granite, and a lovely woman in her late-twenties who looked a bit shell-shocked.

  Kind of like how I felt.

  “Sam, I’d like you to meet the divers you saved.” Max nodded at the woman. “Marine Engineer Vicky Edwards and her dive partner, Banger, one of our SEALs.”

  My jaw dropped. “Oh my God, you’re Cindy’s sister! She’s on the crew I left to come here.”

  “Yep, I’m her sister, but please don’t tell her about what happened.” Vicky stood and hugged me. “Thank you for saving us and for getting the vaults. You made a hard job easy, but I have to admit it scared the crap out of me.”

  “Yeah, well, seems like everything has a down side.” I smiled. “I’m just glad we made it back.”

  Max turned to the Norseman. “And this is our marine biologist, Dr. Kip Peterson.”

  I nodded at Kip. “It’s a pleasure to meet everyone, especially now that our underwater nightmare is over.” I smiled and settled in across from Max.

  “Lucky for us, that kraken killed the Russian divers. Bastards t
ried to shoot us,” Banger said.

  “The Russians sent divers to kill me too, but the monster crushed them into mush.”

  “We thought it was coming to kill us when we saw you riding the tentacle,” Vicky said. “Even though you explained why it was there, I still thought we were going to die.”

  “How did you manage that rescue?” Banger asked.

  I glanced at Max. “Uh, I’d rather not get into that. In fact, I’d like you to forget the whole thing and pretend you were rescued by other means. That goes for the vault retrieval too.”

  Max jumped in. “Sam did us a huge favor at great personal risk. It would be better for her if no one finds out what she did. No one would believe it, anyway.”

  “We’re going to have to admit the giant squid is real since we already told several foreign countries about it,” Kip said. “No other way to explain the loss of their ships without bringing the blame on us.”

  “Which is why we can’t tell anyone Sam can control it,” Max said. “Those countries would think we sank their subs and spy ship on purpose.”

  I added, “It rescued the divers and retrieved the vaults in less than ten minutes. Only your crew saw what it did, so make sure they keep their mouths shut. You need to come up with an alternate explanation for the Navy.”

  Max nodded. “Alright, how about this? We tried our best to kill the kraken and have no idea why it destroyed those vessels and killed the Russian divers. We lured it away with an AUV and rescued our divers with the research sub. And we won’t mention the vaults.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “And the dead Russian divers can’t refute your account.”

  “I have one more major task to complete in Atlantis.” Max glanced at me. “I’ve been ordered to deactivate and then disable the weapon housed inside the black pyramid.”

  “Can our pet squid reach it with one of its tentacles?” I asked.

  “The weapon is in a circular chamber well over three hundred feet from the entrance. The giant squid is much too big to fit inside, and its tentacles aren’t long enough,” Kip said.

  “Too bad. I know from past experience the pyramid’s defense mechanisms aren’t programmed to attack sea life,” Banger said.

  “Defense system will not attack Golden Twin. She now ruler of Atlantis,” Dragon Master said as he nodded in my direction.

  Great. He had to open his big mouth and tell them I can enter safely. There has to be another way.

  Vicky glanced from me to Max. “Captain, why can’t you just destroy the pyramid with torpedoes and crush the weapon?”

  Max shook his head. “Too dangerous. The weapon is already powered up and ready to fire. There might be a failsafe that would trigger it if we attack the pyramid. It would only need a second or two to fire enough energy into the ley lines beneath it to set off a major earthquake that would compress the tectonic plates and raise Atlantis.”

  “Massive amounts of water would be displaced, which would create enormous tsunamis that would kill millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic,” Kip added.

  “That’s why we need to disarm the weapon before we destroy it.” Max nodded at Vicky.

  I tried to change their focus. “I think delivering those vaults to U.S. soil should be the top priority. In the meantime, our nuclear sub can guard the pyramid, and you can send me back to Hawaii on another fast mover so I can finish my flight check.” I glanced at my watch. “If I go today, I’ll get there in time to rest and resume my trip on schedule. Dragon Master can stay here and assist you.” I raised a brow. “You owe me, Max.”

  “All right, but promise you’ll return and help me deal with that weapon.”

  “Agreed.” I stood. “I’ll go put on my G-suit.”

  “Thanks. I’ll arrange to have an F/A-18F waiting for you in Key West and order a Seahawk to fly you there.” He glanced at his watch. “Be ready in fifteen minutes.”

  “Thank you, Max.” I hesitated. “Uh, any chance you can get me some chocolate?”

  The men looked bewildered, confusion clouding their faces.

  Vicky laughed. “I’ve got plenty. The phenylalanine in it helps take the edge off all the stress,” she explained, glancing at the men.

  “Lucky for me there’s a woman on this ship.” I grinned at her.

  I rushed out, pulled on the G-suit, texted Ross about my supersonic flight back to HNL, and met Vicky and Max on the helipad.

  She handed over two bars of Godiva dark chocolate and hugged me. “Thanks for saving me, Sam. I’ll see you back here soon.”

  “Wait, I have a birthday gift for you from Cindy.” I unzipped a thigh pocket, pulled out the velvet pouch, and zipped the candy bars into the pocket.

  She opened the pouch and pulled out a silver-chain necklace with a silver kraken pendant dangling on it. “Holy crap! How did she know?”

  “Sister’s intuition?” I laughed. “Now you’ll never forget that giant squid.”

  “As if I ever would!” She grinned and hugged me.

  I hugged a bewildered-looking Max and waved goodbye.

  Ten

  My ride back to HNL was in another F/A-18F, piloted by a guy with the call sign Gunslinger. En route at supersonic speed over the Gulf of Mexico, I asked, “How’d you get that call sign?”

  “Ever hear of a shooting organization called SASS?” he said.

  “The Single-Action Shooting Society? My brother, Matt, used to compete in it doing Cowboy Action Shooting before he joined the Navy. He won a bunch of trophies.”

  “Then you know all the shooters had competition names. Mine was Gunslinger, and I won National Champion three years in a row before I joined the Navy. My squadron found out about it, and the name stuck.”

  “Then you must be Paul Dupree, the guy who kept beating out my brother. Matt won National Champion the year you joined the Navy. He joined the year after.”

  “Matt Starr is your brother? What’s he doing now?”

  “He flies Super Hornets based on the carrier Lawrence Lee. His call sign is Rodeo. I think they’re still in the Mediterranean Sea.”

  “No kidding? What are the odds?”

  “I guess you guys have a lot in common. I’m surprised your paths haven’t crossed in the Navy.”

  “You’re an airline pilot, right? That’s what they told me in Key West.”

  “I fly Boeing 767s for Luxury International Airlines based in Palm Beach.”

  “Would you like some stick time in the Hornet?”

  “Another pilot—Jackpot—let me fly one from Hawaii to Key West earlier today. I’d love to do it again, but I’m afraid my nerves are shot. My hands are still shaking from a terrifying experience that happened a little over an hour ago. If I take the stick, we’ll be all over the sky.”

  “No kidding? What happened?” he asked.

  “It’s top secret, and you wouldn’t believe me anyway, but I really appreciate the offer. Maybe next time—if there ever is a next time.”

  “I understand. I figured you must be somebody important. The Navy doesn’t order fast-mover transport for just anybody. You relax, and I’ll get us there ASAP.”

  And he did.

  I fell asleep and dreamed of sea monsters. When I awoke, we had just touched down in HNL.

  “Thanks for the ride, Gunslinger. Give my best to Jackpot if you see him.” I handed him my helmet.

  I took a cab to the layover hotel on Waikiki Beach and checked in. Then I grabbed the phone in my room and called Jeff. He answered on the second ring.

  “Hey, Jeff, I’m back in Hawaii, and I’ll be ready to finish our flight sequence tomorrow.”

  “Great! Everything turn out okay?”

  “Yep, the divers are safe, and your son’s mission is now way ahead of schedule, so he sent me back here on another Super Hornet.”

  “Want to join the crew for dinner? We’re going to a luau.”

  “I’m pretty beat. I think I’ll just get room service and crash, but I’ll see you for breakfast.”

&n
bsp; “Okay, I’ll call you in the morning. Glad to have you back, Sam.”

  I opened a split of red wine from the mini bar and called Ross. Hearing his Scottish baritone always made my heart race.

  The next morning, I strolled into the restaurant and found Jeff and Lance seated with three of our flight attendants at a table for six. Lance had kept the seat next to him empty.

  I had to admit I might have responded a bit too favorably to his hot kiss in Hong Kong, but hey, I was only human. I was pretty sure the majority of women would’ve ripped his shirt off in the first five seconds. I’d handled it better than most. All clothing had remained on. And we’d had a good reason for the kiss anyway.

  On the other hand, my actress friend, Carlene Jensen, would’ve had Lance right there in the hallway of the floating restaurant. (It wasn’t like she hadn’t had him plenty of times in the past.) The man never had to do without. There was no reason for me to ever feel guilty about turning him down. He knew I loved Ross.

  “Welcome back, Sam. How was your trip?” Lance said as he stood and pulled back my chair, always a gentleman.

  I settled in and greeted everyone. “The flight to Key West was a thrill. I got to do the takeoff, some of the flying, and the landing. It was also the first time I’ve gone supersonic. I loved it!”

  “What did you think of Max?” Jeff asked.

  “I recognized him the moment I saw him. He looks like your clone—and he’s an amazing captain. It’s obvious he has the respect and trust of his crew.”

  “What was the big emergency?” Cindy, the head flight attendant, asked.

  “Two Hardsuit divers were trapped inside a building that was two thousand feet beneath the surface, and they’d run out of options.” I honored Vicky’s request and didn’t mention she’d been one of the divers.

  “But why did they need you?” Sonia, a blonde flight attendant in her mid-twenties from Spain, asked.

  “Because it happened in the underwater city of Atlantis.” I paused. “I might be the only person left alive who knows a lot about the Atlanteans, and that little Chinese guy who came with me is an expert on their energy systems.”