by Mike Monahan
This moment of visual horror proved to be Chuu’s misfortune as Andrej pumped three slugs into his back. Chuu fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. This was a moment of total shock to all. The entire island seemed to have turned into an asylum. The past five minutes had been hellish, but all eyes were on Chuu’s prone body. The man with the laughing eyebrows stared upward with unseeing eyes.
Andrej stood over his vanquished enemy with a sneer. Suddenly, a quick burst of shots rang out, and he dropped to his knees. Blood spilled out of mortal wounds in his chest, turning his white tuxedo crimson.
This scene was played out in the light of sporadic fires and looked so surreal. The darkness of the hotel was in the background and the shadows were off to the sides, but the fires lit up the deadly action on the porch.
Andrej looked curiously at Hiroshi and then at the smoking gun in his hand. A look of understanding flickered in his eyes just before they rolled back into his head and he fell on his face, dead.
Without a word spoken, the Japanese and Russian enforcers opened fire on each other in close combat. In seconds, hundreds of rounds were fired from semi-automatic handguns. Bodies dropped like flies, and there was a large cloud of cordite from the discharged gunpowder hovering over the great lawn. When the combatants stopped to reload, simultaneously, it seemed, the petrified guests took this opportunity to run clumsily into the hotel lobby. Those brave enough to peer out from behind their hiding spots saw the firefight carnage, and then they saw the dock explode in fiery fury.
In a horrifying moment, the casino and hotel were bathed in firelight. The fifty five-gallon drum exploded on impact with such force that the fuel washed over the casino and restaurant with a tidal wave of flames. The ornate hanging rugs and carpet ignited almost as fast as the table linens. Within minutes of the crash, a wall of flames consumed the casino and the Neptune lounge, and then spilled into the lobby, igniting the large front desk and leather lounge chairs.
The number of shooting combatants was reduced dramatically by the time the fire engulfed the Majestic Hotel. In a grandstand of arrogant machismo, the rival gangs stood nearly toe-to-toe, shooting as fast as they could squeeze the triggers.
The Russian and Japanese mobsters finally ran out of bullets and resigned themselves to hand-to-hand combat. Bleeding and dying, they struck each other with empty guns and flashlights until the last fighters were left to watch the blood ebb from their numerous wounds. Exhausted and slowly succumbing to their fatal injuries, the last of the warriors could only hurl curses at their enemies as they perished at the foot of the burning hotel.
The grandeur of the Majestic Hotel and Casino was reduced to ashes reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah. The residents lay dead or dying, while the survivors fled to a simple village of humble hamlets. VIPs who would never even speak to a villager begged for mercy and a place to seek refuge. All the money in the world could not save them from the terrible carnage that befell their sumptuous resort.
***
Looking from the atoll toward the shore, the men aboard the Hummingbird viewed a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie. The water between them and the shore was flickering with orange flames that danced in the cool breeze, distorting the images on the other side. The men watched as harried VIPs ran from one scene of certain death to another. Finally, they saw the survivors dash from the burning hotel and seek refuge in the poverty-stricken village.
They could see the dead bodies strewn about, distorted by the flames on the water in the foreground and the flames of the hotel in the background. The entire scene seemed so ridiculous. It seemed horribly karmic that something like this could happen to wealthy crooks, politicians, and prosperous entrepreneurs.
“This defies my worst nightmare,” Dr. Collins whispered.
Regis took his hat off and placed it over his heart in reverence to the dead.
“This is not the way I wanted things to turn out,” Micko said quietly.
“Live by the sword, die by the sword,” Celestial remarked, apparently unmoved by the devastation.
“Thank God all our work is in Regis’ hut,” James commented in a faint voice.
“Look!” Regis pointed toward the Bikini resort, where the men could see the Thor racing toward them.
The Thor pulled alongside the Hummingbird, and after a brief discussion and explanation, the Thor’s captain, Shorty, asked, “Is there anything we can do to help?”
Before anyone could respond, the Hummingbird was rammed from below, making it list heavily toward the port side. Scuba geared clamored, and tools fell as the men grabbed for stable footing.
“It’s that damn freak fish!” James exclaimed.
“Celestial, drive out to the Apogon,” Micko ordered. “I have an idea. Shorty, go inshore at the village and see if you can help the survivors, but stay way clear of the remaining pier.”
His leg was throbbing and his heart grieved for the innocent victims, but his brain was running at full throttle. All his detective instincts were back. He may have been laid up for a year, but nobody handled pressure like an NYPD detective.
Micko knew what needed to be done—and he knew how to do it right. The Thor would pull into shallow water and the crew would help get the VIPs aboard and take them to the Bikini resort for shelter and first aid. Flacka and the rebels were safe because the enforcers were all gone. The Bible was safe on Bokbata Island, and the scientists’ work was safe in the village. The FBI would arrive in the morning to clean up the mess, so there was one important task left. The mutant barracuda was the only problem left to solve.
Micko explained his plan to the others during the ten-minute ride to the resting place of the Apogon. They all strenuously objected, but to no avail. Micko was determined. James helped Micko climb into the professor’s re-breather suit and the gas mix was set for a 190-foot dive.
“We have no full tanks for you to decompress with, so you must stay within the limits of the re-breather,” Dr. Collins urged as he removed his special dive computer and handed it to Micko. “If it starts to beep, you’ve exceeded your bottom time and need to decompress, which is now impossible.”
“I’ll keep an eye on it, Doc,” Micko assured him, “but right now, I’m more afraid of becoming a late night snack for that bastard.”
Celestial angled the Hummingbird to the mooring, and Regis tied in. They all huddled around Micko as he prepared to dive.
“I want all you guys to hold up your left hand and place your right hand over your heart,” Micko instructed.
The men followed the instruction.
“By the police powers invested in me, I now deputize you all in the name of the NYPD. If anything happens to me, you all have the power of peace officers—but if I come back, I want the deputy badges back,” Micko joked.
The detective prepared to drop over the side of the boat and into the water. “Celestial, throw all your lights on the water to attract the beast, and the rest of you guys should throw things into the water in the opposite direction of me. Let’s see if we can keep him busy until I reach the sub.”
A second later, Micko was in the water, making a rapid descent along the mooring line. He kept this bright u/w light off during the descent into the pitch-black abyss. Since the re-breather didn’t spit out bubbles like conventional scuba, Micko hoped to get into position before he had to use the u/w light, which would undoubtedly alert the barracuda of his presence. He had no knowledge of the ultra-sensitive lateral lines on this mutant fish.
It had banged and bumped the Hummingbird all the way to the Apogon, using its keen sense of hearing and the vibrations striking the lateral lines. Its eyes were very blurry from the bright flames that covered the surface. It had never tried looking through the water medium into the atmosphere medium before, and the brightness of the flames temporarily blinded It.
When Micko entered the water, It immediately knew that one of the awkward tube things was diving deep; but It decided to deal with the slow-moving enemy after It dispatched the
big oblong object on the surface. It heard non-aggressive splashes and didn’t fall for the bait. Suddenly, the bright lights at the boat’s waterline came on and startled the barracuda.
Celestial normally used these lights to attract both bait and game fish while night fishing. It was just a curious phenomenon that fish were attracted to bright light. This bright light was too much for Its already stressed eyes, and It attacked the Hummingbird.
Micko reached the bottom of the buoy line and looked up above, where he saw that the surface lights were keeping the barracuda busy. Using the strong beam of his light to locate the submarine, he quickly swam to the conning tower. As he expected, his gear was still strapped tight with the spider wire.
Working quickly, but with skill, Micko cut just the scuba tank free and left the BC vest. The tank still had more than 900 psi of unused compressed air left. The surgical shears cut the spider wire like a hot knife through butter. He was glad that the plan was going smoothly.
Next he carried the extracted gear to the torpedo tube where he had earlier seen the live bomb lying in the bow tube. He placed the scuba tank in with the bottom just inches away from the torpedo primer pin and the regulator barely sticking out of the tube. Micko warily looked around, but he couldn’t see the monster. He pressed the purge button on the second stage regulator and jammed it so that a steady stream of bubbles poured out the exhaust. Then he hastily swam to the sunken skiff.
He played his light from side to side, looking for the beast, and saw a shadowy fish swaying back and forth in front of the skiff. He was temporarily startled, thinking this was strange. He’d never known a fish to behave like this, so he swam over for a closer look.
Micko played his light beam onto Tanya’s lifeless body tethered to the sea floor with a rope and a cinder block.. She looked like a ghostly apparition as she swayed to and fro with the current. The sea creatures had not yet violated her lovely features, and she actually looked like she was at peace. Micko suddenly understood what Chuu had been doing in the small motorboat earlier that day. He regretted seeing her this way, but he had to get back to the task at hand.
Micko turned his light back toward the skiff. The skiff was already upside down, so he lifted one side up and slid under, like a pea in a shell game—only this was a much deadlier game.
He was in position and waiting for the fury of the demon when he heard a loud disturbance from the surface.
***
It attacked the boat and Its long dagger teeth blew out two of the u/w lights.
“Everyone put on a life jacket,” Celestial ordered as he put his own on. “Regis, untie the life raft.”
“This fish can’t sink us,” Dr. Collins protested.
“We’re not taking any chances,” Regis answered as he untied the four-man raft.
It continued to ram the Hummingbird until Its pointy upper front teeth impaled themselves into a wooden plank.
“Quick, Regis! Get me the spear!” Celestial ordered. “Then load the shotgun!”
Regis slipped the pole spear out of the galley closet and handed it to his captain before returning to get the shotgun. The giant barracuda was hopelessly stuck, and Celestial was going to spear It continuously until It bled to death.
“Everyone, get to the other side of the boat so we don’t overload this side,” Celestial commanded.
The others complied as Regis laid the raft at the rear of the deck and then joined them. The brave captain struck the struggling beast with vicious blows until It bled profusely. Suddenly, It twisted one hundred and eighty degrees to avoid another stabbing, and a large piece of planking broke loose in his mouth. It snapped Its jaw twice and the wood was free. Celestial leaned over the gunwale for a final deathblow and jammed at the fish with all his might. The sleek barracuda easily avoided the lunge, and instead of biting through the shaft of the harpoon, pulled on it sharply.
Celestial lost his balance after his hard lunge missed its target. Before he could regain his balance, the monster fish pulled him and the spear overboard. Celestial landed awkwardly, but his life vest quickly righted him. Before he could look for his nemesis, he was shocked as he saw the huge hole in the side of his boat that was rapidly taking in water.
Dr. Collins was the first to arrive at the side of the boat. “Celestial, hold on!” he yelled.
James ran over with the portable ladder and attached it. “Hurry!” he yelled. “Climb back aboard!”
Regis leaned over the gunwale with a useless life ring in one hand and the empty shotgun in the other.
“Everyone, get back to the other side of the boat!” Celestial dictated from the water, reaching for the ladder. “There’s a huge hole on this side. Regis, start the pumps now!”
Regis opened the engine canopy and started the electric pumps in an attempt to pump out the incoming water faster than it rushed in. The scientists were nervously looking at the rising water on the deck when they heard a blood-curdling scream. When they looked up, they saw Celestial being thrown into the air like a toy, only this toy had blood gushing out of its body where its left leg used to be. Celestial hit the water hard when he fell back in, but he still scrambled toward the ladder with both arms and one leg flailing hard. Again, the poor man was tossed high into the air, but this time he was missing his right arm just below the elbow.
Celestial could no longer scream, but gurgled on his own blood. The three men on the boat could only look on helplessly as the Hummingbird began to list dangerously. Incredibly, the amputee captain had a look of defiance in his eyes as he used his left hand to poise the harpoon he still held for a strike. Blood was gushing out of his wounds faster than the water was rushing into his boat, but Celestial wanted one more strike at his foe.
Regis finally grabbed the shotgun shells from the wheelhouse and loaded the weapon. “Damn, Celestial! You’re always leaving the gun and the shells in separate cabinets,” he muttered.
He ran to the side of the boat to see Celestial harmlessly poking the harpoon into the water near his remaining leg. Celestial was in the glow of the boat’s lights, but a few feet further was complete darkness.
It swam so fast that the men never saw It as It removed Celestial’s other leg with surgical precision. Without the weight from his legs, Celestial’s torso bobbed helplessly on the surface. His face was drained and pale, and his mouth drooped listlessly like an abandoned puppet. His face was blank of expression, and his eyes were opened wide but unseeing.
Regis began firing the shotgun aimlessly into the water while uttering curses at the unseen mutant. He fired and reloaded. This scene repeated itself several times until James grabbed the distraught man and said, “We may need those rounds. The boat is going under.”
Regis looked around the deck and saw that the boat listed precariously, and the professor was holding onto the raft that threatened to be washed overboard. “I suggest that we get into the raft now and get away from the suction of the Hummingbird as it sinks,” he calmly proclaimed.
The trio took one last glance at Celestial as he slowly floated out of range of the lights and into the darkness of the netherworld that he was entering. They launched the raft and clamored inside just as the Hummingbird exhaled a final audible gasp and sank. She fell in a straight line at a leisurely pace to find her final resting place with the Apogon and the scientists’ skiff.
***
A chill went up Micko’s spine as he saw the Hummingbird slowly descending toward him where he peeked out from under the shelter of the skiff. It looked like a huge spaceship with the landing lights on, coming in for a very soft landing. Micko thought he was getting narced until he saw the barracuda illuminated by the boat’s u/w lights. This snapped him back to reality, and he immediately figured that the demon fish had caused the sinking of the Hummingbird. It was following the sinking vessel as it neared the ocean floor. The Hummingbird landed on her starboard side and kicked up a large cloud of sand as she entered her watery grave.
For a few minutes, Micko lost sight of
the devil fish as the churned-up sand blanketed the area. As the sand slowly settled back onto the lagoon bottom, Micko saw a hazy figure swimming over its fallen opponent. The u/w lights were barely penetrating the blinding sand, but Micko could see the barracuda appear to gloat over its victory. Then without warning, the barracuda seemed to snap to attention, back up ever so slowly, and stare in his direction. A cold chill went up Micko’s spine as he realized that this was the end.
As the sand settled, Micko could see that bubbles were still coming out of the scuba tank’s regulator in the torpedo tube. He watched as the huge barracuda bent itself into a tight S. It held that position for a long moment and then shot with blinding speed not at him, but at the torpedo tube. The slender head of the barracuda jammed right into the tube, and It used Its enormous jaws to snap the top right off the tank.
This caused a deadly chain reaction. The scuba tank, under high pressure, shot backward and smashed into the head of the live torpedo, detonating it. The ensuing explosion was funneled forward and tore the front right off the submarine. It also tore the head right off the creature from hell.
Micko was watching from the stern of the submarine; the vast majority of the blast was targeted forward from the bow and away from him. Still, enough of the shockwaves rushed at him with enough fury to lift the skiff completely off him. Micko kept a low profile in the sand, but enough of the shockwaves caught him to rip the mask right off his face and the regulator hose out of his mouth. He was caught in a blast whirlpool that twisted and rolled him like a corkscrew.
The scuba diving detective was now in another fight for his life. He was tumbling out of control without a mask, and he was unable to reach his mouthpiece for air. His head was throbbing inhumanly as shock blast after shock blast pummeled his body. He finally landed on his back in the sand facing upward into an inky world of black. His u/w light was gone, ripped from his hand during the blast, and the shockwaves had burst the lights on the wreck of the Hummingbird, throwing the entire lagoon into darkness.