“Just like a mini-sub?” he asks Jenna.
She wipes away a stray tear and smiles at him. “More or less.” Then she taps a wavy icon on the monitor closest to her.
The STAV comes to a sudden halt, jarring Miles a bit with vertigo.
According to his monitor, they are four feet above the ocean floor. It’s only forty feet here so…close one.
“You’re backup,” Jenna says. “I’m the captain.”
“I’m cool with that.”
Laughing a bit, Jenna nods. “I figured you would be. Now…hold on.”
She pulls and turns the throttle/wheel and the STAV and it veer quickly to the right. Before he knows it, they are surging through waters over one hundred feet deep.
“Holy shit,” Miles says, “slow down.”
“You wanted to see what this baby could do, well…”
She pushes the throttle/wheel in and the STAV dives straight toward the bottom.
Heart crashing in his chest, Miles grips the armrests of his seat. In a moment, the ocean floor becomes visible.
“Oh shi—”
Not at all worried, Jenna pulls up on the throttle/wheel and the STAV levels out at ninety feet.
She turns to him, grinning. “I think it’ll do.”
“Y-Yeah. I think so. Shit.” His heart is a rampaging beast and he wills it to calm down. It works. Barely.
She laughs. “I think you forgot how awesome I am.”
“I guess so, damn.”
“You wanna try it?”
Miles glances at the throttle then at Jenna. She’s smiling. She truly has the prettiest smile. “Um, I think it’s best you have it, Captain.”
She chuckles and turns the throttle/wheel slowly to the left. High density lights show every detail of the ocean floor, which is mostly sand and trash at this depth. The magnificent coral reefs are all but dead throughout the world. Only a small area near the small island of Australia remains. Once, Australia used to be quite large, but after the sea levels rose…
“You know,” Jenna says after a few more minutes and at a depth of three hundred feet, “I think this thing will work.”
“Uh-huh,” Miles says, bracing himself. “Look out.”
In front of them is a small school of hammerhead sharks. Jenna steers swiftly away from them and does a round-about, heading back toward the pier and Southbound Warehouse.
“Yeah,” she says. “I think this will work just fine.”
They emerge from the water. Jenna switches to land mode and they roll back into the warehouse.
She sets the brakes and says, “Easy as pie.”
Miles, heart still thudding heavily, nods. “Uh, yeah.” He stands. “I’ll gather everyone. We set out in a half hour.”
He’s about to turn and walk to the hatch at the rear of the STAV when she grabs his arm. He stops, glances at her grip on his forearm and then at her, eyebrows raised.
“I don’t think you should bring that woman with us.”
“Who? Emma or…”
“Yes. Emma. I’m sure she has a lot of knowledge of the ocean and all, but she really is a liability, Miles.”
He huffs out a breath. “You don’t know Emma. It won’t matter how much I tell her to go home, she’s stubborn.”
“Just like someone else I know,” Jenna says smiling a bit at him.
“Worse. But I’ll try. If she doesn’t listen, she’ll be part of the team.”
Jenna releases his arm, chuckling. “Sylvi will stab you.”
With a smile and a shrug, Miles turns away. “She’s stabbed me before.”
Her light laughter follows him through the STAV to the hatch.
It’s true. Sylvi has stabbed him before. Not intentionally, that’s why it’s a bit funny.
They were on a rescue mission in South America. It was night. Sylvi drew her sword as they approached a small encampment where the POW’s were said to be held. Miles stopped unexpectedly at a sound and the tip of Sylvi’s sword stabbed his right butt cheek. Luckily, he hadn’t yelped in pain and blown their position, but it hurt, and he needed stitches once the mission was over. It soon became a running joke among the team.
Apparently, it still is.
He presses the pressure button and opens the hatch. It makes a giant whoosh sound, then he steps out.
“’Bout time,” Jakob spouts the moment his boots touch the cement floor of the warehouse. “We’ve been waiting for like, three minutes, man.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Miles says, gaze drifting from Jakob to Guether. Both men are sporting all black tactical gear. All ready to go. He smiles and cocks a thumb over his shoulder at the STAV. “Load up. We’re setting out in a half hour.”
Both men nod and begin packing the STAV with supplies. Water, food, ammo for the STAV and rifles. Miles glances around, but the warehouse is otherwise empty except for Ma working on the cap of a laser burst at the far end. He walks over to her, covering his eyes as she welds.
When she’s finished, he says, “We head out in a half hour. Think it’ll be done by then?”
Ma slides the welding goggles up onto her forehead and puffs out her cheeks. “Should be. Need the tooth yet.”
He nods. “I’ll see where Geri ran off to.”
“I think those two are stuffing their faces in the kitchen.”
“Kids,” he says.
She smiles, which is rare for Ma who never really shows much emotion most times. “Agreed. Yeah, get me the tooth and I think I’ll have this thing done in time.”
“On it.” He walks away, heading for the kitchen.
He steps through the archway just in time to see Emma bite into a giant muffin. She notices him, eyes wide, and about chokes on the stuff in her mouth. Bits of muffin spray the table and Geri pats the woman’s back.
“Inhaling muffins is dangerous, dear.”
Emma sputters, manages to swallow and takes a quick sip of water.
Miles shakes his head. “You really shouldn’t be here, Em.”
She frowns. “Where should I be, then?”
“Home. You shouldn’t be here about to go on a possible suicide mission.”
Shrugging a bit, Emma says, “I got nothing better to do. Besides, I need to make sure my star diving protector doesn’t run off on me. You’re under contract, you know.”
He grunts. “Is that so? I don’t remember signing a contract.”
She waves a hand. “Oh, you did. It’s in the file cabinet. You’re legally my responsibility, so…here I am.” She bites into her muffin, this time chewing and swallowing with ease.
“You will not win this one,” Geri says. “You are stuck with her.”
Miles sighs. “Yeah. I know.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Emma levels a challenging gaze on him.
“Nothing at all. Just that I know I can’t convince you to go home and be safe.”
“Damn right you can’t,” she says, finishing off her muffin and gulping down the rest of her water.
He can’t help but smile. The woman is indeed just as stubborn as him in some ways.
Finally, he huffs out a breath, crosses his arms over his chest and says, “Okay, then. I want you to get with Sylvi for some gear. She’s about your size and weight, I think.”
Emma’s eyes widen. “Wait, ninja girl?”
He nods.
“She hates me.”
“Probably.”
Emma looks away. “Fine. But if she says one derogatory word I’ll—”
“Oh, stop it,” Sylvi says rushing into the kitchen. “Only thing you’d hear is the swish of my blade.” She grabs Emma by the back collar of her shirt and pulls. “C’mon. Let’s get you dressed.”
Emma gives Miles a wide-eyed “help me” look, then she’s yanked out of the kitchen.
Miles sighs, is about to turn and leave the kitchen when he does a double take at Geri. The old woman is grinning. Not just a grin, but a long grin. Almost too long to be real.
“What?”
She chuckles. “Young love is the blindest of all loves.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t—”
She waves a liver spotted hand. “Oh, never mind. Told those two goobers to load my stuff into that sub contraption you have out there. I do not think they did.”
Feeling the pressure of time pressing down on him, he crosses his arms once more. “What stuff?”
“Why, the stuff I need for this journey, of course.” She leans forward over the table a bit, grinning. “There might be only one way to kill Jörmungandr, but there a few ways to subdue and deter her.”
He steps forward, stops. “Really? With what? How?”
“There is a black bag in the next room. Please load it with the other items we are taking, but in plain sight and easy to get to, understand?”
“I got it, but…?”
Geri shoos him away, reminding him way too much of his grandma. He finds the black bag in what might have been the warehouse’s lobby. Nothing special, really. Just a black, leather bag about the size of a large purse. But when he picks it up, the thing it like a damn anvil it’s so heavy. Something inside clinks as he strains to carry it into the kitchen, avoiding Geri’s smile, and out into the main warehouse.
At the STAV, he places the damned heavy-ass bag near the cockpit area. Right by the right-side row of seats. The left row stare at him blankly. Well, if they had eyes anyway.
Jakob and Guether continue loading things into the STAV wordlessly. Air tanks. Diving gear. Inflatable rafts. All the things they need just in case shit goes wrong.
By the time he steps outside of the STAV, Emma, Geri and Sylvi are standing there. Emma, like everyone else save for Geri, is dressed head to toe in black tactical gear. Surprisingly, Sylvi even gave her a pistol, which is fixed to her hip. Like this, Emma looks like a total badass.
“Ready?” he asks.
All three nod. He steps aside as they enter the STAV. Emma doesn’t even look at him. After a couple of seconds, he hurries over to Ma. The young woman turns the laser burst cap this way and that. Inspecting the welds, perhaps.
“How’s it looking?”
Ma grunts. “As good as it’s ever going to be.” She looks at him and lowers the cap with the long fang attached to it. “The shot will have to be perfect. No miscalculations.”
“I know.”
“I’m serious. If you miss, we’ll not only lose the fang, we’ll be dead.”
Miles opens his mouth tell her he knows, then shuts it again. She more than likely knows he knows.
“Alright,” he says finally. “Get the cap fixed to a laser blast and we’ll set out.”
Ma nods. “On it.”
“Thank you,” he says and returns to the STAV.
A moment later, Ma enters the STAV and goes to work installing the cap to a laser burst.
“So,” Jakob spouts, sidling up next to Miles. “How’ve you been, man?”
Miles shrugs. “Okay, I guess.” Jakob is a great kid, but sometimes tries too hard to get Miles’ attention. Miles knows how good the guy is in combat and in heart. But sometimes the kid just tries way too hard to gain attention. Especially from Miles. Still, Miles knows how hard of a life Jakob had before joining the Seals, so…
“How’ve you been?”
Jakob visibly beams. “Good. Well, kind of. I was just integrating into civilian life when this call came.”
“Shit,” Miles says. “Sorry.”
“Psshh,” Jakob says. “I missed this shit.”
Miles chuckles and pats the young man on the back. “Me too. Let’s go kick a demigod’s ass. What do you say?”
“I say, hells yeah!”
Once the cap is attached to the laser burst, Ma gives him the go ahead.
“Okay,” he announces just outside of the STAV. “This is a rescue mission. Nothing more until it becomes more. We’re looking for whatever survivors we can carry from the USS Cutter. And if we encounter the creature responsible, we’ll take care of it. This mission is no different than the Arctic Sea Experiment a few years ago. Our primary objective is to find survivors and rescue them.”
“And if that big bastard comes at us?” Jakob asks.
“Jörmungandr,” Geri corrects, sticking her head out of the open hatch.
Jakob rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”
“We have a weapon to kill it, but also, Geri says she has some other tactics to deter the monster,” Miles says.
This seems to appease Jakob some, and he nods.
Guether, massive arms crossed over his giant chest, says, “Will the STAV hold many survivors?”
“Only a few,” Jenna says, stepping out of the STAV. “But we can call in the Coast Guard for those we can’t take on.”
“Those bastards never make to time,” Jakob spouts.
Jenna snorts. “No shit. But, I can’t have them on standby. Murdock Jones might be monitoring their feeds.”
“Probably owns them,” Guether adds.
“Are we leaving, or what?”
Everyone visibly flinches at the sound of Sylvi’s tone. Something brimming with irritation and anger. No matter who you are, Miles knows, you don’t piss off a top assassin. Especially Sylvi Bo.
“Okay,” Miles says. “Let’s move out.”
Jakob and Guether pile into the STAV. Miles sighs, gives the warehouse a final glance, and climbs with his old team. He’s thinking about Mike as the hatch closes and the pressure inside the STAV pushes into him before Jenna sets the oxygen and stabilizes the bulky, metal tube.
On either side, all the way to the rear, their supplies and gear are strapped down tight. A careful balance Jakob and Guether put together fantastically.
Geri, Emma, and Ma sit on one side of the STAV, while Jakob, Guether, and Sylvi sit across from them. Geri tucks the black bag under her seat the best she can.
Miles stops at Emma, whose eyes are like baseballs in their sockets. She stares up at him, visibly trembling.
“Hey,” he says and hunkers down in front of her. “If you can’t do this, it’s okay. You don’t have to come along.”
Her eyes close for a moment, and when they open again there’s steel in them. The same steel he has admired over the three years he’s worked for her. She blows out a breath, inhales, and says, “I’m fine.”
He smiles. For someone scared out of their mind, Emma sure hides it well. At least to those who don’t know her anyway.
“Ready,” Jenna calls from the cockpit. “Everyone strap in.”
Miles pats Emma’s leg, stands, and walks to the cockpit, closing the door behind him. He plops in the seat beside Jenna, buckles in. “Okay, Captain.” He winks. “Let’s go fuck shit up.”
She grins, rolls the STAV into the water, and hits the thrusters.
A few minutes later they shoot through the dark waters, aiming for the last known coordinates of the USS Cutter.
CHAPTER 10
Geri is snoring, like, leaned back-head lolling as this underwater coffin shoots through the ocean-not a care in the world-snoring. How she can do it is beyond Emma.
How deep are they now? How far out?
It’s been about an hour since they set out.
What things are swimming under the surface watching them? Are they being hunted already?
Emma shudders at the thought.
“You’re a marine biologist?”
She looks across the way at ninja girl. Emma hasn’t learned all their names yet.
Emma nods. “I am.”
Ninja girl leans forward a bit, frowning. “Then why are you so fucking terrified of the ocean?”
“I’m…not. Just never been in one of these things before.”
Ninja girl laughs coldly. “A marine biologist whose never been in a submersible before.” She leans back in her seat. “Interesting.”
Emma is about to tell this little bitch that, yes, she has been in a mini sub before when the big man beside her grumbles.
“Lay off her, Sylvi. Jesus.”
“No, you’re being an ass,” the woman on the other side of Emma says. “An even bigger one than usual.”
Sylvi blinks, obviously taken aback by the lack of support from her fellow team members.
Finally, she shrugs. “She’ll get us all killed. I think—”
“In my experience,” Geri says, head still resting back, face turned to the ceiling, “it is the assholes that get the team killed before the inexperienced ones.”
If glares could kill, Geri would have been dead in an instant. Sylvi’s upper lip curls in a snarl. “And who the fuck are you, again?”
The smaller man sighs, leaned back in his seat and looking away from them all. “Oh, for God’s sake, Sylv. Calm your moist nuggets.”
“Fuck off, Jakob.”
Jakob snorts. “Very original.”
Sylvi bares her teeth at Emma and jabs a finger at her. “Stay out of my way and I won’t cut you in half. Got me?”
Emma wants to punch her in the face, barely refrains and simply says, “And you stay out of mine.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Well,” says Geri, “now that we got that settled, can we all be quiet now? This old woman needs some sleep.”
Sylvi hisses at Geri but brings out a tattered book nonetheless and begins reading.
Beside her, the other younger woman says, “Sylvi likes romance novels. They calm her down. Like anger management.”
Emma nods. “I see.”
“I can hear you, you know.” Sylvi shoots a deadly glare over her book.
“My name is Marertte, but everyone just calls me Ma. And you’re Emma?”
She shakes hands with Ma. “I am. Nice to meet you.”
“Jakob. But god your memory sucks.” The smaller man reaches over to shake Emma’s hand.
She shakes his hand. “A lot has happened tonight.”
He gives her a firm pump, then releases her hand. “Has been a little crazy, for sure.”
“Guether,” the big man says, also offering her his hand.
His hand swallows hers, but his grip is gentle, and his shake is not as strong as Jakob’s.
“Oh, for fuck sake,” Sylvi erupts. “She’s not the goddamn Queen.”
Everyone ignores her and Guether says, “I know that Geri over there thinks this monster is something mythical, but what do you think?”
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