Dark Waters

by Lucas Pederson

  “I’m sorry about that,” Miles says. “I should have said good-bye.”

  Sylvi glares at him for a long time before her face softens a bit. “I still want to stab you in the face.”

  He chuckles. “You wouldn’t be the first.”

  The tension lessens and he’s able to relax a little.

  “So, who’s this?” Sylvi points at Geri.

  The old woman grins. “Your fairy godmother.”

  Sylvi glances from Jenna to Miles and back again. “Seriously, who is she?”

  “Geri Rask,” Miles says. “Norse historian and archeologist.”

  “Among other things,” Geri interjects.

  Shaking her head, Sylvi says, “They let anyone in these days.” She fixes her gaze on Miles. “You see the monster?”

  He nods.

  “My ancestors would have called it a dragon. But that’s not what it is, is it?”

  He points at Geri. “She knows what it is.”

  Geri blows out a long breath, visibly exasperated. Probably wondering how many times she has to repeat herself. “Not a dragon, but close. It is Jörmungandr, brother of Fenrir. Daughter of Loki. She is also referred to as the Mid-Gard Serpent.”

  Nodding, Sylvi looks at Miles and cocks a thumb at Geri. “You understand any of that?”

  “The serpent is a minor god. One of the god Loki’s offspring. Fenrir is her brother, and the only thing that can kill her. Something like that. Anyway, we have a tooth.”

  Sylvi blinks. “A…tooth?”

  As if on cue, Geri brings the long, curved fang out from her pocket and holds it up. “Inside this is Fenrir’s venom.”

  “Well, isn’t that just lovely,” Sylvi says. “But how the hell are we going to kill that thing with a tooth?”

  Walking, because his legs are uneasy and need to move or he’ll go nuts, Miles says, “Shoot it into Jörmungandr’s eye.”

  One of the woman’s thin, dark eyebrows rise. “That…sounds like a fun time. I think we—”

  The door behind Miles crashes open. “Freeze! I have a gun!”

  He spins, eyes widening, because…he knows that voice. Jenna draws her pistol and levels it on the dark figure on the platform. Sylvi disappears into the oily shadows.

  “Miles! Come on!”

  He lifts his hands and says, “Settle down Lone Ranger.”

  Faint, but there, “Huh?”

  Miles smiles. “Put the gun down. I’m okay.”

  “But these…people kidnapped you. I saw it happen!”

  He shakes his head. “It was all a ploy to fool someone. Believe me, I wish they hadn’t done it this way, but…”

  Before he has time to stop her, Sylvi darts out of the shadows, plucks the rifle out of Emma’s hands and snugs the blade of her sword under Emma’s chin.

  “Whoa,” Miles says. “She’s not an enemy. Stand down, Sergeant!”

  Sylvi lowers the sword, though doesn’t sheath is, as he had hoped.

  “What are you doing here?” he asks Emma.

  Rubbing her neck, she tromps down the metal stairs to him. “I thought you were in trouble. Damn.”

  “I’m not. Sorry about that.”

  “A lot of sorry’s going around,” Sylvi mutters behind Emma.

  He ignores this, focusing on Emma. “You should go home.”

  “And do what? Worry about the best damn charter protector I’ve ever had? Pshh.”

  He can’t help but smile. “Alright.” He turns to Jenna. “This is Emma Thomson. She’s a biologist and deep-sea diver. I think she’d make a good addition to the team.”

  “She’s a civilian, Miles,” Jenna says. “How the hell are we going to explain her to the Admiral?”

  “I think the Admiral has more important things to deal with right now, don’t you?”

  After a moment, Jenna nods. “Okay, whatever.” She points at Miles. “But she’s your responsibility.”

  “Well,” Geri spouts. “You are lovely, dear.” She scoots over on the crate and pats the empty space with her hand. Dust plumes. “Come keep an old woman company, will you?”

  Emma gives Miles a look he can only assume is bewildered.

  “It’s okay,” he says. “She’s our expert.”

  “That makes it so much better, Miles,” Emma says, tone seething with sarcasm. “Thanks.” But she sits beside Geri and almost immediately, they are deep in conversation.

  “She’s a liability,” Jenna says to him. “You know that, right?”

  “She’s not going out there,” he says. “I just said she’s part of the team to calm everyone down. As soon as we’re about to set out, I’ll send her home.”

  “I don’t think she’ll go, dude.”

  He sighs. “It’ll be a struggle, yeah.”

  “You really do let just anyone in these days,” Sylvi spouts, appearing beside Jenna.

  “Stop it,” he says and points at the STAV. “We have other things to think about right now and—”

  “The return of Miles Raine,” a woman’s voice says and Ma steps out of the shadows. At least she’s smiling a little.

  Miles smiles back. “Hey, Ma. How’ve you been?”

  “Tired,” she says matter-of-factly. “All diagnoses of this mission leads to failure, you know.”

  He didn’t, but nodded anyway. Always the factual one, Ma. With her calculations and data. The brains of every operation. Without Ma, everyone would have been dead several times over.

  “Well, just so you know.” She glances at Emma and Geri. “Who are they?”

  Miles laughs, walking away. He can’t help it.

  CHAPTER 8

  In a matter of minutes, Emma knows almost everything.

  Geri barely pauses, her thick, Scandinavian accent mottling more than a few words, though not too badly. She tells Emma all about Jörmungandr and her brother Fenrir and how the tooth in her pocket will kill the serpent. She tells Emma of the mission ahead and that the team she’s working for is very moody.

  Every now and then, Emma’s gaze drifts to Miles. He truly is a handsome man, both inside and out. Also, the most frustrating. She kind of wants to punch him in the face right now.

  Shit, she thought he was in serious trouble and come to find out he’s just hanging with his old Seal buddies. His sorry barely touched her.

  Still, she’ll help him find his brother, no matter the cost.

  Not like she has anything to really lose anyway. No real family to speak of. No children. Nothing but her small charter business. Nothing to get excited about, nor worry. She’s known Miles for almost three years. The man has grown on her and she mainly just wants to help. For all the things he’s done for her – like save her ass more than once during dives – she feels she should return the favor.

  “What are you a biologist of, dear?” Geri asks.

  “Marine. All the sea life.”

  Geri nods. “You might indeed be useful here.”

  “Thanks,” Emma says, not really sure what to say.

  “They need someone with some ocean knowledge. So far as I can tell, they are all a bit on the wonky side.”

  “Okay,” Miles says and gestures to Sylvi. “The one who almost cut your throat open is Sylvi.” He pats the shoulder of the larger woman beside him. “This is Jenna, my second in command. Over there is, Ma, the brains of the team. And I see you’ve already met Geri.”

  Emma doesn’t much care for Sylvi’s, cold, gray glare, and Jenna appears like she might either fall asleep or break something. Maybe both. And Ma…well, Ma is yawning while tapping away at some device. Something too oblong to be a phone. Faint beeps sound from her direction.

  Geri huffs. “There is two more, yet. Dumb as mules, they are.”

  Both Jenna and Sylvi shoot glares at the older woman.

  “Okay,” Miles says and claps his hands together sharply, instantly shattering the tension in the room. “So, the only thing we have is this…STAV? Nothing larger or more powerful?”

  “Anything too big an
d Murdock Jones will ping us,” Ma blurts. “His teams would be on us in minutes. Smaller the submersible, the better the chances of slipping by radars.”

  “And I imagine he’ll have, like, dozens of teams out near that location just watching and waiting for us,” Sylvi says.

  Jenna nods. “This is just like Chile.”

  Miles grunts. “Almost. Only this time it’s a damn army employed by the richest man in America and some monster sea serp—”

  “Jörmungandr,” Geri quickly corrects.

  “Yeah, that,” Miles says. “We have that thing and the open ocean itself. Everything is stacked against us here.”

  “Mmm, not everything,” Ma says, brown face curling in a mischievous grin. She lowers the oblong device. “I have equipped the STAV with a cloaking device and jet propulsion. Whatever we can’t hide from, we can outrun.”

  Miles snaps his fingers, as if just remembering something. “Does the STAV have capped laser burst rounds?”

  Ma cocks a black eyebrow. “Does a camel live in the desert?”

  Miles smiles. “Good. We need to somehow attach the tooth Geri has to one of them.”

  After apparently thinking this over a moment, Ma shakes her head. “There’s no feasible way to securely attach bone to metal.”

  “Could drill a hole through the cap,” Miles ventures. “Stick the tooth through and seal the backside up so we don’t lose the laser thrust.”

  “Could,” Ma says, frowning. “The sealant would need to be metal based and strong. A composite, perhaps.” She visibly thinks this over, nods. “I need a welder and some iron-based putty.”

  “On it,” Sylvi says and slips away.

  Christ, that girl is fast and so damn quiet. Like a ninja, or something. Emma isn’t really sure what to say or do amongst these people. Miles never really acted so…in charge. So…badass.

  Seeing this actually forces a shiver through her. Has he been hiding his true self from her all this time?

  “Okay,” Miles says. “Ma, you work on the capped laser burst and tooth. Jenna, you and I are going to learn how to run that damn thing. Few tests in the water before we set out. I want to make sure we know every in and out and glitch.”

  Jenna nods, straightening a bit.

  She likes him, Emma thinks, smiling a bit to herself. She’ll never admit it, but she likes him a lot.

  “Emma and Geri,” Miles says, and she almost jumps off the crate. He smiles at her. “I want you two to figure out a good plan of attack if we meet this…Jorumburger.”

  Geri sighs heavily. “Jörmungandr.”

  Miles nods. “Yeah, that.”

  “What about Jakob and Guether?” Jenna asks.

  “Those two can sleep for a little longer. We’ll fill them in when they wake up.” He motions to the large, bulky gray thing aimed for the pool of water where the floor descends. To Emma, it looks like a cross between a big tank and a submarine. “Let’s get acquainted with the controls. Ma, you start in on the capped laser burst.”

  Ma waves him away. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get my drill.” She swings off the crate and walks away until the shadows swallow her up.

  As the others disperse into their assigned jobs, Geri turns to Emma and places a liver spotted hand on her shoulder. “Do not worry, dear. I already have a plan of attack if we should come upon Jörmungandr.”

  Emma blows out a breath that’s far too heavy to be a sigh. “I don’t even know what’s going on right now.”

  Smiling in the most grandmotherly way, Geri says, “Well, we are going to find that young man’s brother and kill Jörmungandr, if we have to.”

  Emma blinks. “Yeah. This is just…so weird.”

  “Because you did not know this side of him?”

  “No. I mean, I knew he was in the Seals and I knew he was a big deal, but he never showed it. He was tough and knew how to protect my clients, but he’s never been so…in charge.”

  “He adapted,” Geri says in a soft tone. “That is what warriors do when they return to society. Those who do not go mad, of course.”

  “Warrior,” Emma says, watching Miles climb into the tank-like thing. She guesses she’s never thought of him as a warrior before.

  Geri nudges her. “He likes you too, I think.”

  Emma stiffens. “Huh? What?”

  The old woman smiles. “Do not think I do not see that spark between you two.”

  “There’s a spark?”

  Geri laughs, although it sounds more like a witch’s cackle. “Indeed there is, dear. Indeed there is. See it in both of your eyes. I see it even now in yours.”

  Emma looks away, emotions dueling with each other. Is there a spark? If so, she supposes she feels it from time to time, but usually she acts on her urges. With Miles, she never has, even if she wanted to. Probably because she didn’t want to jeopardize the employer/employee relationship. And more recently…friendship. Yes, she definitely considered Miles a friend. Not a very close one because he’s always so distant, but still…a friend nonetheless.

  Again, Geri nudges her. “Do not worry about it too much, dear. He will come around. You will see. Right now, though, he worries about his brother.”

  “So, what can I do?”

  Geri blinks. “Exactly. What can you do? You know sea-life, correct?”

  Emma nods. “I’m a marine biologist, yes.”

  “So, you know a lot about the smaller animals and fish trolling the sea?”

  “And temperatures, and plant life. Stuff like that. Nothing that will help with this mission.”

  “My dear,” Geri says, “you will be a great help to this cause.” She nods toward the tank-like thing. “Otherwise he would have sent you away.”

  Emma stares at the open hatch where Miles disappeared into the tank, submarine, whatever it is. “You think so?”

  “I know so. Now,” Geri slips off the crate. “I think we should eat something before we set out.”

  The old woman shuffles away and after a moment, Emma follows, stomach grumbling.

  PART 2: BELOW THE SURFACE

  CHAPTER 9

  “It’s like a standard mini-sub,” Jenna says after inspecting the controls.

  They stand in something like an airplane cockpit, rather than a submarine control panel. There are two seats and in front of each are horseshoe shaped throttles/steering wheels. A combo he hasn’t seen in a long time.

  “What the hell did they build this with?” He taps one of the dark monitors set in the panel near the throttle/wheel hybrid. “Spare parts?”

  Jenna gruntsnorts. “This thing is like all over the place, dude. Literally half sub and half tank.” She looks at him. “You sure you want to take this thing out there? Looks like a deathtrap.”

  Miles presses a green button in the center of the panel between the throttle/wheels. All the lights blink on. Something above him beeps. “I don’t think we have a choice.”

  “Like hell,” Jenna says. “I can walk away from this any time I want to.”

  He shoots her a firm look. “Then why haven’t you?”

  “Because of you. I know how much you love Mikey.”

  Miles chuckles. “He’d punch you for calling him that. Even if you’re a girl.”

  She smiles. “I know.”

  Of all of them, Jenna has always been the closest. Not in a romantic sense. More like a sisterly way. She used to come to their Thanksgiving dinners years back, even. She knows Mike probably just as much as she knows Miles. She made a good addition to their tiny family. Then, when he left, he just sort of…cut her out.

  He sighs. “I’m sorry.”

  Jenna frowns. “For what?”

  “For leaving you like I did. I just…”

  She places a hand on his shoulder. “Hey. It’s okay. Really. I understand your reasons.”

  He shrugs her hand off. “Yeah, but you were like a sister to me.”

  Something in her green eyes changes, though he’s not exactly sure what. Where they were once bright, now they’re
slightly dimmer. “It’s okay.” She turns to the panel. Beyond this is a curved window. Something Miles is leery of because glass breaks.

  The seconds tick by, and finally he says. “Okay. Well, what do you think? Should we give it a test run?”

  She shrugs. “Sure. Why not. I feel like dying right now anyway.”

  He’s sure she meant it to be sarcastic, but her tone is slightly off. Deeper. Lower. The sound of a person giving up on something, maybe.

  “Alright,” he says. “I’ll shut the hatch and seal us in. Can you get the oxygen stabilized?”

  “I can,” she says and says nothing more.

  A frown creases his forehead, at least it feels this way. Something is wrong with Jenna, but he’s not really sure why unless…

  No. She’s always been like a sister. And as far as he knew she never wanted him like that. Or did she? Does she?

  Shit…

  Instead of dwelling on it, he hurries to the hatch. Emma and Geri aren’t on the crate anymore. He pulls the latch lever, closing it and presses the pink seal button. There’s a slight crinkling sound, like a soda can being slowly crushed in a hand.

  The pressure is immediate. He struggles to find his breath, moving toward the cockpit area.

  “Jenna?”

  She’s sitting in one of the chairs, face streaming with tears. She quickly wipes them away, sighs, sniffs, and laughs a bit. “S-Sorry.” She presses a blue button.

  A loud hissing noise fills the STAV.

  Gradually, the pressure eases around him. No more does his head feel like it’s between steel vises. And his breathing eases.

  Once he catches his breath he taps Jenna’s shoulder. “Why were you crying?”

  But she waves him away. “Thinking about my mom. You ready?”

  That’s not it, he thinks, but straps into the chair beside her anyway.

  Probably best to just let it drop for now. Mike is the main objective and the more time they waste figuring things out, the longer he’s out there with monsters.

  He just hopes they won’t be too late.

  Miles finds the land thrusters button to shove the STAV into the water. The moment it splashes though the surface, the damn thing beings to sink.