The Sam Reilly Collection Volume 2

by Christopher Cartwright

  Chapter Sixty

  Sam downloaded the schematics for the Mississippi onto his computer tablet which he took on all his dives. If he pulled this crazy stunt off, he didn’t want to find he’d screwed it up because he activated the wrong system, or couldn’t locate it altogether.

  He prepared his equipment. A single dive tank. Carbon fiber and custom fitted to mold with his torso. Unlike a conventional tank he wore this one wrapped around him instead of as a large cylinder on his back. It would offer some protection if he collided with the lethally sharp edges of the scarred opening on the hull. Filled to 300 BAR, it would provide him with nearly two hours of breathe time at the shallow depth. Sam knew he wouldn’t need anywhere near that much time. If he did, he’d have already failed.

  His plan was to take a Sea Scooter 6000 with Bi-Jet Dive Propulsion to the stricken supertanker. Depending on the size of the rupture to its hull, he might get lucky and be able to drive right in. If he’s not, he’d have to dump the Sea Scooter, and do it the old fashioned way. Either way, it would be the fastest way to reach it. Matthew had advised him the slick of burning surface oil was now nearly a mile out from the Mississippi.

  Sam placed his full-faced helmet over his head and breathed in. He looked at his dive computer. There was ample gas. All systems appeared to be in order.

  He pressed his push to talk radio button. “Matthew, how far off the oil slick are we?”

  “You’ll be right to dive in approximately one minute.”

  “Good.” Sam moved towards the moon pool. Dangling his legs into the water.

  Tom entered the room and sat down next to him. Sam looked at his friend. He was equipped to dive and held his own Sea Scooter in his left hand. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Oh Christ Tom! I thought I told you that this was a stupid idea, and I didn’t want to risk your life.”

  Tom placed his helmet over his head and locked it in place. “My life – are you kidding me? You know that I’m only here to stop you getting yourself killed. How many times must I save your life before you learn to keep me close by?”

  Sam began to complain. “I thought we were even…”

  “Don’t even start. I’m coming with you. No reason to let you bask in all this heroism. Not to mention, I need a share of the profits of two million barrels of crude oil more than you do.”

  Sam knew Tom cared less than he did for the financial reward, but he was thankful not to be doing this on his own, none the less. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Tom pulled out a small plastic tube from his chest pocked. It was filled with some sort of clear liquid – probably water – and handed it to him. “Veyron told me to give this to you.”

  “What the hell for?”

  “He said if we run into any more of that glowing green plankton, we’re to take a sample. He didn’t say what for, and I didn’t ask. You’re all just as crazy as each other.”

  Sam laughed.

  “I’m glad he was thinking ahead.”

  “You knew about this?”

  “Yes. I’ll explain after we succeed.”

  Chapter Sixty One

  Sam dropped into the water. Negatively buoyant, he sank to ten feet within seconds, and then started the Sea Scooter. Its twin jet propulsion system firing up, he drove it diagonally downwards to thirty feet.

  He set a bearing of 340 degrees northeast, towards the damaged super tanker. “You ready Tom?”

  “I’m right behind you,” Tom replied. He spoke his words slowly and with a calm certainty. “I’ll follow you.”

  “Okay, here we go then.”

  Sam pulled back with his right handed throttle. The Sea Scooter rapidly picked up its pace as the twin jet propulsion systems reached their peak velocity. Above him the surface darkened as though they had just been swamped by a dark storm cloud. Only this one had a strange orange glow and the occasional blue bursts of intensely heated flame.

  “There goes our ability to surface,” Tom said. Then, a moment later, as though he were mentioning the weather forecast, he said, “From here on in, we might as well be on an extended cave dive.”

  Sam checked the speedometer at the center of the Sea Scooter. It read 40 miles per hour. No small feat for a SCUBA diver holding onto twin underwater jets. “I’m not worried about having to surface. It’s what’s below the surface and inside that ship that I’m concerned about.”

  In front of him, the mammoth hull of the supertanker came into full view. Sam could hear Tom’s reassuring voice over the radio. “At least you won’t have to wait too long to see how much you need to worry about that.”

  Sam stopped approximately fifty feet away and looked up at the monster. “No, that’s one benefit I suppose.”

  Tom stopped just next to him. At the front of each of their Sea Scooters a SONAR transducer focused on the hull. Mounted on the heads up display above the Sea Scooter’s own instrument panels was a visual representation of the water movement and materials up ahead. It included the basic shape and outline of the ship’s hull structure.

  The hull was riddled with fractures and openings.

  In front of Sam, the screen showed the movement of liquid flowing into the hull as blue markings with arrows pointed upwards. Where it flowed outwards the computer displayed it as red. “Look for one of the larger ones flowing inwards. I figure any outwards flow is oil and inwards is seawater.”

  Next to him, Tom studied the flow of water. There was only one major oil leak, but several gaping holes with seawater flowing in. He pointed to the nearest one. “How about that one?”

  Sam studied it for a moment. “Think someone your size will fit?”

  The gaping steel wound to the hull of the Mississippi was no more than four feet in diameter. On the left edge a small section jutted out like the side of an opened tin can. It wasn’t the largest entry point they could see – probably only the third, but by far the closest to the oil leak, and where they needed to get to in order to activate the safety systems.

  “I’ll squeeze through.”

  “Okay, we’ll aim for that one.” Sam looked at Tom. At six foot five inches tall and 220 pounds of muscle, his shoulders barely looked like they’d squeeze through. It would be like threading a needle at high speed. “Just remember, there’s going to one hell of a pressure build up through that point. Like the drain in a bath tub, all the surrounding seawater will be competing to enter. If you strike an edge of the hull, you’ll be dead before you realize your mistake.”

  Tom grinned. “Then I’d better not make a mistake.”

  The sort of statement, made by any other person, and Sam would have mistaken it for overconfidence and stupidity. But with Tom, it was simply the byproduct of a lifetime of diving.

  “All right, let’s do this.”

  The water near the razor sharp gash spun as it approached the opening in a torrent of powerful seawater.

  Sam opened the throttle. And his Sea Scooter came to life. Driving him rapidly towards the open wound in the hull.

  Chapter Sixty Two

  The Sea Scooter pulled in a multitude of directions while Sam fought to keep it on track with the opening. The currents were powerful and kept trying to send him of course. It pulled him slightly to the left, making him drive towards the hull and not the opening.

  He cut out the electric throttle.

  He was drifting sideways towards the opening. At seven feet to the gash he opened the throttle to maximum and the Sea Scooter sped in through the tiny hole.

  Like threading a needle.

  Inside the seawater turned and spun in powerful eddies, trying to consume the empty hull. Bubbles frothed to the surface, as the water competed against the air inside for space. Sam slowly surfaced. His head popped above the water.

  The room was entirely dark with the exception of Sam’s shoulder-mounted LED. He cracked an orange military-grade glow stick and the entire room lit up. Sam quickly studied the room. The ceiling was thirty feet above him, and he judged the water
was another twenty below. It was narrow, maybe only ten feet wide. Probably a safety compartment between the oil tanks. Some safety compartment – the water tight doors were still intact.

  The gas inside the compartment was warm. Enough to make breathing uncomfortable, but not yet lethal. That was, if it was air. Sam had already been informed that each compartment of the Mississippi’s lower decks had been pumped with inert gas to reduce the risk of combustion. Oil itself is very difficult to ignite, but its hydrocarbon vapors are explosive when mixed with air in certain concentrations. Consequently, Sam brought enough air supply to last until he was off the supertanker.

  “Okay, Tom – your turn.”

  “Well done Sam. Now, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  The water inside the hull had risen so that Sam could step onto a steel grate that formed the platform for a series of ladders. He swam to the side of it and stood up. Above he looked for the large red handle used for the manual releases that controlled the fixed deck foam system and solidifying system.

  He spotted them almost immediately.

  They were situated directly above him. Three separate ladders were all that separated him from reaching them. It would be an easy climb. He didn’t wait for Tom. If those fires reached the main oil compartment, the ship could still be blown to pieces. He was worried about Tom entering the hole in the ship. Its edges were sharp like the edge of an open can. One mistake, and Tom would be dead. There was nothing he could do about it if something went wrong.

  And so he concentrated on climbing.

  Hand over hand, Sam took two rungs at a time. He breathed deeper while he worked and the ambient temperature rose dramatically the closer he got to the ceiling. He’d seen the flames from above more than twenty minutes earlier – Sam knew the deck above him was well alight with flame. And oil fueled flames burn extremely hot.

  A slight creak resonated in the deck above.

  He increased his pace despite the burning sensation in his muscles. On the third level he stood atop the grate and examined the twin leavers. One was red with blue rings and the other was black with yellow rings. He pulled the blue one first – hopefully activating the fixed deck foam system, followed by the black one – activating the oil solidifier.

  He waited for a sound. Anything to reassure him that it had worked.

  There were crackles of flame above.

  Followed by silence.

  Tom poked his head above the surface of the water. “I’m in Sam.”

  “Great. I’ve already pulled the manual releases for the safety systems. But I have no idea if they’ve activated yet.”

  “We won’t know a thing until we get out.”

  Sam moved to the edge of the platform he was on. “I wonder if we can get to the next section from here. I’d feel better if I knew for certain we had successfully triggered the safety systems.”

  Tom started to surface swim towards the steel grate. “Okay, give me a second to get out of here, and join you.”

  Sam tried to reply, but his words never reached Tom.

  A large explosion above choked his voice. The entire ship shuddered in turmoil. Sam moved to the side to brace himself.

  And then the deck above collapsed.

  Sam looked on in horror, as part of the deck – a still burning section of steel nearly fifteen feet in length by another eight in width, detached. The steel fell to the water below, where Tom was completely vulnerable.

  It made another violent crash as it struck the water, sending steam high into the air. Sam looked above him again. Foam was pouring into the opening. It had worked – the fixed foam safety system had been activated. Below, the smoldering wreckage and burning steam replaced the spot where Tom had been surface swimming.

  Chapter Sixty Three

  Sam clambered down the ladders. Half sliding, half falling. He reached the first rung of the third ladder and stopped. The water had risen so that it now almost covered the entire third ladder. Sam dipped his head into the water trying to see any sign of Tom. There were bubbles gurgling everywhere and steam shooting off the red hot steel. The previously cold seawater now felt warm to touch.

  “Tom, tell me you’re alive!”

  Silence.

  Sam didn’t wait for a response. He jumped into the water, released air from his BCD and sunk to the bottom of the hull. The remains of the steel framed deck rested up at a slight angle, maybe twenty degrees to his left. Something had blocked it from sitting flat when it reached the rounded bottom of the hull. Air bubbles formed by the edge of the steel as it turned the water beneath to steam, which now flowed like the turbid froth found in white water rapids across the edge and up to the surface.

  He made a little over half a circuit of the damaged deck before he saw it under the sharp edge of the broken deck. Difficult to make out from any distance because of the bubbles, Sam had only noticed it because it changed the natural contour of the flow of bubbles. Close up, he was able to confirm exactly what it was – Tom’s Sea Scooter, crushed to about five inches thick.

  “Tom, can you hear me?” he said.

  More silence.

  Sam shined his flashlight underneath the deck. There was nothing there. Certainly no signs of Tom’s body. That has to count for something. Sam returned to the surface. He scanned the area from top to bottom. Still no signs of Tom.

  About to dive again he felt a hand on his right shoulder and turned.

  Tom grinned back.

  “You’re alive!” Sam said, gripping his shoulder.

  Tom made no response. Sam frowned. A few moments later Tom handed him a dive slate. On it were the words “My radio’s been damaged.”

  Sam nodded his head and replied. “I see. Let’s get out of here.”

  Tom shook his head. Scribbled on the dive slate. “Can’t leave. Sea Scooter dead. Can’t swim against current.”

  Sam understood immediately. “What if I tow you?”

  “Are you kidding me? I’d be hanging out the back like a trailer. With your driving skills, I’d rather take my chances swimming on my own.”

  “You want to wait until the fire stops, or the ship sinks completely?”

  Tom began writing a new message. He was interrupted by a second loud explosion. This time, burning oil began spilling into their compartment. Tom scratched the message and then simply wrote. “Let’s try your way.”

  Chapter Sixty Four

  Sam gripped the left and right throttles of the Sea Scooter and Tom locked his big hands to his ankles. He made it cumbersome as hell, but Sam hoped the overall power of the Sea Scooter’s bi-jet propulsion would overcome it. Sam slowly maneuvered the craft through the multitude of fallen bits of wreckage now inside the hull.

  He was cautious at first, and then he heard the violent shock of another explosion. Instinctively he picked up the pace. Swerving to the left to miss two large hanging sets of steel chains he wanted to set himself up for the straightest advance towards the opening in the hull.

  A fourth explosion resonated through the hull!

  That was followed by the sound of metal tearing and then falling. Oh shit! Sam gave up on his original plan to aim for a longer, but straighter approach to the savage opening in the ship. He saw it now directly below and to his left. The tumultuous and chaotic water still flowed through the relatively tiny opening at a devilish pace.

  Sam heard the splash as the steel above him struck the water. He then felt a crushing sensation as Tom squeezed both his ankles. Time had just run out. He pointing the Sea Scooter straight down, and opened both throttles to full.

  He felt the onslaught of rushing seawater strike him like the collision of a small truck. They were jolted to the right. Sam corrected his steering to the left. And then they reached the opening – a four foot by three-foot gash in the side of the steel hull.

  The Sea Scooter was forced to a crawl. The pressure increased and Sam wasn’t certain they were going to make it through or be shot back towards the falling metal. Locked into a powerful
battle between the outside pressure and the powerful bi-jet propulsion system, Sam crawled through the opening.

  The pressure then changed.

  Behind him, the large steel wreckage caused a shockwave directly behind him. It was just enough to change the battle for power, and suddenly the Sea Scooter had the upper hand.

  They shot through the opening.

  A moment later they were out of the strong pull towards the hole. Now released, the Sea Scooter charged like a bull let out of a gate.

  Sam sighed a breath of relief. They had half a mile to travel to clear the oil streaked-surface, and they would be safe. Back onto the Maria Helena as heroes. They had pulled it off. The impossible had once more been achieved.

  He grinned. This one’s going to go down in the record books for good luck.

  And then his luck ran out.

  Chapter Sixty Five

  Sam took another breath. It was hard. The air was somehow thicker and more resistant. He forced himself to breathe slowly and fill his lungs.

  He looked behind his right shoulder. The edge of the exoskeleton dive tank was missing. He must have clipped it on the razor sharp edge of the Mississippi’s broken hull. Above him, the oil-slicked surface ran longer than his vision could see.

  By the third breath, he was out completely. He couldn’t even share with Tom because his entire system had been damaged, and there was no longer any place for him to connect Tom’s secondary regulator.

  Sam slowly breathed out through pursed lips. About five years ago, he won the international free diving competition at the Devil’s Hole. Of course, he’d been training for it then, and the stakes weren’t life and death.

  He kept both throttles fully open and the Sea Scooter screamed towards the clear surface. Sam had no way of keeping track of the time that passed, but he could feel the euphoria and delirium sneaking up.

  Then he saw the clear surface up ahead.

  He drove diagonally so that he shot up through the surface. Within seconds he had his helmet off and took several deep breaths of fresh air. Only the air wasn’t fresh. It was full of smoke and oil. But it was enough to keep him alive.