Stranded (A Samantha Starr Thriller, Book 4)

by S. L. Menear

  A fifteen-foot statue of Poseidon on one of the gold thrones dominated the domed chamber. He held a scepter with a lighted crystal pointed at the rhombus. Statues of the Goddesses of Sun, Moon, and Fire sat on the other thrones. The goddesses held lighted crystals that were also pointed at the giant gem.

  I turned as the divers carrying the nuke placed it beside the orca sculpture.

  The timer read 26:18.

  Damn.

  “Are you guys ready to help me fire the ancient weapon?” I asked, noting they had dive knives clipped to their utility belts. I’d need one soon.

  “Ready,” they said in unison.

  “I need a diver beside each goddess on a throne. Be ready to grasp her lighted crystal when I tell you.” I thrusted over to Poseidon’s throne.

  This had better work, or I’ll be toast, and millions of people will drown.

  USS LEVIATHAN

  Rowlin entered the conference room where the men from the failed rescue mission waited with marine biologist Kip Peterson.

  “Gentlemen, I can’t emphasize enough the gravity of the situation.” Rowlin ran his hand over his blond buzzcut. “The Chinese sabotaged the UK’s submarine and then took its place in front of the pyramid. We know they have Sam, and they intend to force her to fire the Atlantean weapon.”

  Mike stood. “Put me in a Hardsuit and send me down there.”

  Banger and Oz stood.

  “Oz has Hardsuit experience,” Banger said. “Send him down with us.”

  Ross raised a hand. “I’m not Hardsuit qualified, but I’m a fast learner. Send me too.”

  Rowlin held up both hands. “I didn’t assemble you to get volunteers. I need intel, and fast. First, tell me everything you know about Dragon Master.”

  “Sam first met him in Hong Kong, where he gave her the key to Poseidon’s Sword,” Ross said. “At that time, he was working for the Atlantean remnant hiding in the Himalayas.”

  Max hit a button on a phone speaker positioned in the center of the long table. “I have my dad and Lance on the phone.” He spoke near the central speakers. “Dad, tell me anything you or Lance know about Dragon Master.”

  Jeff said, “During the flight from Hong Kong to Honolulu, he admitted he’d captained the ship that kidnapped Sam from the Weddell Sea. He claimed he serves Sam now that she’s Queen of Atlantis.”

  Lance interrupted. “The part about serving her is a lie. He leads a group called Way of the Dragon. His soldiers told us that before they took Sam from the mesa.”

  “Is it possible his group is working against the Chinese government?” Max asked.

  “Yeah,” Lance said. “Dragon Master isn’t a communist. His people said something about returning to when China was ruled by divine emperors.”

  “Any chance his soldiers could be in control of that Chinese nuclear-powered submarine that took Sam and parked in front of the pyramid?” Max asked.

  “The Chinese are known for playing the long game,” Jeff said. “Way of the Dragon could’ve been working toward this goal ever since the communists took over China.”

  “How does wiping out a large portion of the world’s population help them take control of their homeland?” Kip asked.

  “Maybe they’re counting on world powers to help them overthrow the government after they blame the disaster on Communist China,” Jeff said.

  “This could be our excuse to destroy their sub without starting World War Three.” Max grabbed the ship’s phone. “Get me SECNAV and hurry!”

  Weapon Chamber

  I waited until Dragon Master’s divers were positioned in front of the statues of Solraya, Luna, and Blaze, the Goddesses of Sun, Moon, and Fire. I trusted the ancient defense system to read my electromagnetic energy signature and accept me as the queen. I also counted on that system to attack my dive companions who had the wrong body energy.

  Nothing would happen until they touched the crystals. If I was wrong about the system sparing me, the Atlantean weapon would never be fired, but there’d be no one left to deal with the nuke.

  I glanced at the divers. “Place your graspers on the lighted crystals held by the goddesses.”

  The moment they touched the crystals, a loud ping reverberated inside the chamber.

  “Good, that means the system is working,” I said. “The next step is for you to remove the crystals with one quick pull. Now!” I knew the crystals couldn’t be removed.

  When the divers yanked on the crystals, more loud pings reverberated in the chamber as long, deadly spears dropped from the domed ceiling and pierced their Hardsuits. Their deaths were instantaneous as the immense water pressure imploded their suits and compressed their bodies into bloody mush.

  I rushed through a cloud of gory gel to the nearest diver and grabbed the knife from his belt. I needed to saw through the cable that connected my Hardsuit to the submarine. Oxygen wasn’t an issue—each suit had a self-contained system that provided forty-eight hours of air. I was worried about surviving the next nineteen minutes and thirty-six seconds that kept ticking down on the bomb’s timer.

  For the benefit of the men listening to me in the Chinese sub’s Dive Ops, I said, “It worked! The safety mechanism has been deactivated. Now I can fire the weapon. I suggest disarming the nuke first so your submarine can move a safe distance from the pyramid before I trigger the weapon.”

  Dragon Master’s voice filled my helmet speaker. “We have time. Fire weapon first. Then I will disarm bomb.”

  Something in his tone told me he’d never disarm the bomb.

  “Stand by and brace for impact,” I said, bluffing.

  I sawed through my cable and thrusted over to the orca sculpture. The bomb’s timer read 17:22.

  I grabbed a ballistic spear gun that a diver had dropped on the floor.

  Maybe a spear can penetrate the electronic casing that houses the bomb’s controls.

  I aimed a spear at the thick plexiglass housing and fired at close range. The spear bounced off the clear cover, making only a tiny scratch.

  Before I could plan my next move, an explosion from somewhere outside the pyramid sent a shockwave into the chamber. The powerful current had a bathtub-effect inside the circular room, tossing me back and forth.

  I had a sick feeling the explosion had come from the Chinese submarine, which meant the remote disarming device had been destroyed.

  As I floated from side to side above the nuke, which was now wedged between two of the orca statues, the timer read 15:42.

  Damn.

  Twenty-Eight

  Earlier on the USS LEVIATHAN

  Max spoke to SECNAV on the satellite phone while the men in the conference room waited. Jeff and Lance were still connected to the table phone.

  “Understood, Admiral, I’ll hold.” Max turned to his men. “We’re at DEFCON 1 now. SECNAV is conferring with the President and the Joint Chiefs. The UK raised hell with China after Audacious was sabotaged. Add that to the three attacks on our ships by North Korea, and we’re dangerously close to World War Three.”

  Max glanced from Banger to Kip. “While we wait, what can you tell me about the defense mechanisms inside the pyramid?”

  “The British archaeologist was killed when he tried to move the diamond rhombus,” Banger said. “The first time he touched it, we heard a loud pinging sound. Then, when he tried to turn it, more of those sounds blasted through the chamber, and spears dropped down from the ceiling and pierced his Hardsuit.”

  “And after Ace got killed, I went in with shields for Banger and me,” Kip said. “The system kept dropping spears on us until we were about halfway down the corridor to the outside exit.”

  “Was it different when you guys went in there with Solraya and Blaze?” Max asked.

  Banger nodded. “I avoided contact with everything, and nothing bad happened when Solraya touched the same diamond rhombus the Brit had handled. It just lit up and activated all the crystals held by the chamber’s perimeter statues.”

  “It was the
same for me with Blaze,” Kip said. “I didn’t touch anything. When she touched the Goddess of Fire’s crystal, it lit up and sent a light beam into the diamond. That brilliant gem sent out light beams that activated the crystals held by the other three deity statues, and then it blazed like a miniature sun. The defense system never activated. I’m not sure if the goddesses’ presence protected us, or if we were left unharmed because we didn’t touch anything.”

  “If the security system recognizes Sam as Queen of Atlantis, she’ll be safe no matter what she touches. That means they might be able to make her trigger the weapon.” Max clenched his jaw.

  “Maybe not,” Banger said. “Unless Dragon Master knows something we don’t, I didn’t see anything in that chamber that looked like a trigger. The system was energized a month ago, but it hasn’t done anything except produce brilliant light.”

  “I agree with Banger,” Kip said. “There probably isn’t just one thing that has to be touched to fire the weapon. That chamber has the most complex system of electromagnetic energy fields I’ve ever seen.”

  Jeff’s voice filled the speakers. “I know Sam. She wouldn’t have warned me to move the airline’s people and assets if she knew they couldn’t force her to fire the weapon.”

  “Maybe she didn’t know for sure,” Mike said. “Remember, she’d never seen that chamber. She didn’t know it was radically different from the weapon in the Himalayas.”

  “Or she learned something from Dragon Master that convinced her the weapon would be fired, and that’s why she warned my dad,” Max said. “She knew he’d tell me.”

  The Secretary of the Navy’s voice blasted from the satellite phone’s speaker. “China just confirmed they lost control of their nuclear-powered submarine two hours ago. They suspect Way of the Dragon infiltrated their navy. I just ordered Texas to blow them out of the water. Have you heard anything from our civilian asset inside the pyramid?”

  “No, sir, our only means of communication with her is if she contacts her mother telepathically and then Loren relays the message via phone from Scotland,” Max said.

  “You have ten minutes. If we don’t get confirmation that the weapon is secure, we have to destroy that pyramid. Call Loren Starr.”

  “Aye, sir, I’ll call her now.” Max hit disconnect and immediately dialed Sam’s mother.

  He explained the situation to Loren. “Sam’s life depends on you contacting her right away and getting back to me with an answer.”

  “I understand, Max. I’ll do my best. Please help her any way you can from your end.”

  “Believe me, Mrs. Starr, we don’t want to lose her either, but millions of lives are at stake. Please hurry!” He set down the phone and informed his men.

  Weapon Chamber

  I racked my brain for a solution as the minutes ticked down. Of course, I’d heard the stories about the megalodons Leviathan’s crew had destroyed recently in these waters. Too bad there wasn’t a baby megalodon left to swim in here and swallow the nuke.

  I stared at the blazing diamond held in place by the orca statues. It held tremendous electromagnetic energy, fed by a hundred and four crystals blasting their light beams into it.

  Hmmm.

  I tried to move the nuke. It was wedged between two orca statues and was probably too heavy for one person to lift.

  Then a thought hit me.

  I wonder if the kraken has a baby, and if that baby is small enough to fit in here but big enough to do what I need done?

  I sent the monster a command and waited. Time was running out fast.

  The timer read 9:11.

  Not a good number.

  My mother’s voice filled my head. “Sam! Tell me what’s happening. If the Navy doesn’t hear from you right away, they’ll torpedo the pyramid.”

  I answered telepathically, “Tell them not to destroy the pyramid. Way of the Dragon placed a nuclear bomb on a timer next to the Atlantean weapon as backup. I have a plan to disarm it. Call them now—hurry!”

  “How much time do you have before the bomb explodes?”

  I glanced at the timer. “Eight minutes.”

  “Oh my God, Sam!”

  “Call now and tell them not to torpedo the pyramid!” I cut our connection.

  Water swirled around me as a dark form blocked the light on the entrance side of the chamber.

  I moved behind the orca sculpture and held my breath.

  A giant squid about thirty or forty feet long had slithered into the chamber.

  7:22 counted down on the timer.

  The baby kraken paused and then reached for me.

  The saying “Be careful what you wish for” popped into my head as I struggled to connect telepathically with the monster.

  USS LEVIATHAN

  Max took a deep breath. “Based on the assumption that the pyramid’s defense system won’t attack unless you touch something, I’d like to send Kip, Banger, Mike, and Oz in there to help Sam—but there’s no guarantee the giant squid won’t kill you. It’s up to you guys.”

  All four men stood.

  Banger said, “Send us in, Captain.”

  Max glanced at SEAL Commander George Bern. “Go with them to Dive Ops and supervise the preparations. Get them geared up and ready. Then wait for my order to deploy.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Bern said and led the men down to Dive Ops.

  Right after they left, the satellite phone rang.

  Max answered and recognized Loren’s voice. He listened as she explained about the nuclear weapon and the short time left.

  “Thank you, Loren. I’ll do my best.” He ended the call, punched in the number for SECNAV, and engaged the speaker.

  When the Secretary of the Navy answered, Max said, “I just got a message from Sam, sir. She said the Chinese dissidents planted a nuclear bomb next to the weapon in the pyramid. It’s set to go off in eight minutes, but she’s working on disarming it.”

  “Considering the time lag since you received her message, we probably have about five minutes. I’ll warn Texas to move back to maximum firing range before they destroy the pyramid. We can’t risk having that nuke explode into the fault line.”

  “Sir, if you bury the bomb in rubble, won’t it still explode?” Max asked.

  “We have to take that chance. It’s our only option.”

  “Sam’s also an option, sir. My money is on her. Give her two minutes.”

  “It’ll take at least that long to reposition Texas to a safe firing range. If our girl isn’t out of there by then, there’s nothing we can do. That pyramid has to be destroyed.”

  The men at the table had been listening to Max’s conversation on speaker.

  “Understood, sir.” Max pocketed the satellite phone. “Sorry, Ross, I tried.” He snatched up the interphone and punched in the number for Dive Ops. “Bern, cancel the dive mission. There’s a nuke in the pyramid, and Texas has been ordered to destroy it.”

  Max called the bridge. “XO, sound general quarters and steam east at flank speed. Order the crew to secure the ship. A nuke may explode two thousand feet beneath us in the next few minutes.”

  As the klaxon horn blared, the Special Ops soldiers rushed from the conference room to help the crew.

  Twenty-Nine

  Weapon Chamber

  I exhaled a sigh of relief after a tense few seconds during which I finally managed to establish communication with the baby kraken. I knew I’d succeeded when it wrapped its tentacles around the two orca statues that were pinning down the bomb.

  The rhombus blazed above the side of the nuke.

  I had to time this just right.

  I stood close to the brilliant jewel and waited. The squid yanked two orca statues off their mounts, up and away from the bomb. All four orca statues had been holding the massive diamond in place. When two statues were removed, the gem fell.

  I caught it and instantly felt its power surge through me.

  One hundred and four crystals ceased sending their light beams. The room darkene
d, the rhombus and the bomb timer providing the only light. Although the ancient weapon was no longer armed, the diamond retained a massive energy charge.

  The timer read 0:07.

  I rammed the bottom tip of the energized jewel into the bomb’s control panel as hard as I could. Sparks flew but extinguished quickly in the water.

  The panel light blinked, and the plexiglass cover popped open. I spotted a red covered switch and flipped it to the OFF position. The timer stopped at 0:01.

  I called Mom telepathically. “Hurry and tell the military I disarmed both weapons!”

  “Good, now get the hell out of there!”

  Assuming our military followed the when-in-doubt-blow-something-up mode of operation, I commanded the monster to carry me outside as fast as possible.

  We were almost out of the pyramid when multiple torpedoes slammed into it.

  USS LEVIATHAN

  Max stood on the bridge, clutching the satellite phone as his ship sliced through the water at flank speed. The SATCOM rang, and he answered.

  “Max, it’s Loren. Sam disarmed the nuke and the ancient weapon. Tell your people not to destroy the pyramid!”

  “Thank you!” He grabbed the interphone and called CIC. “Call Texas and tell them to hold fire. The weapons in the pyramid have been disarmed.”

  “Sorry, Captain, it’s too late. They just fired six torpedoes into the pyramid.”

  “Understood. Tell Texas we’re turning back to search for survivors.” Max hung up the interphone and pounded the console.

  He turned to his Executive Officer. “Turn us around and proceed at flank speed back to Atlantis. I’m not ready to give up on Sam.”

  “Aye, Captain, returning to Atlantis at flank speed.”

  Max called Mike and Ross to the bridge. They rushed in with worried looks on their faces.