Chapter 57 - Blood on the Harbor Water
Down in the mini-sub, the comms system hissed to life with static, followed by the muffled sound of a struggle.
My heart leaped into my throat. "Silas?"
There was no answer. Only the cold sound of a gun cocking over the open frequency.
"Elena," Silas's voice crackled through the speaker, strained and lethal. "Miller was Helena's creature. He has been on the Consortium payroll since the Blackwatch fell."
I spun around inside the cramped submersible cabin. Miller wasn't at the helm—he had left the sub minutes ago under the guise of securing the dive hatch. The hatch was locked from the outside.
And then, I heard the scraping of boots against the outer hull of the sub.
"Clara, wake up," I whispered urgently, shaking the little girl awake. "Clara, stay under the seat. Do not make a sound, do you hear me?"
The emergency ballast release lever sat glowing amber near the control console. Silas had shown me how to work it in case of disaster: one pull, and high-pressure air would purge the water tanks, shooting the vessel to the surface like a cork.
Suddenly, the viewport at the top of the hatch shattered. A gloved hand reached through, fumbling for the interior lock.
It was one of Helena’s divers.
Without thinking, I seized a heavy emergency flare gun from the rack, pointed it directly at the broken hatch seal, and pulled the trigger.
*FWOOSH!*
A blinding, magnesium-white fireball erupted through the hole, engulfing the diver in roaring flames. A scream echoed through the water as the man was blasted backward into the murky deep.
I didn't stop to breathe. I grabbed the ballast lever with both hands and threw all my body weight into pulling it down.
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The submersible shuddered violently. A deafening roar of compressed air exploded beneath us, and the vessel surged upward toward the surface at breakneck speed, rocketing straight toward the hull of the burning flagship above!
***
