“Will do, sir.” Michael paused. “Sir?” he said.
“What is it, Commander?”
“We never talked about what happened in Jamaica.”
“What’s there to talk about? The machines killed my son.”
Michael set his tray down on a counter. “Yes, but—”
“I don’t blame you, Commander, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Les said. “If I blame anyone, it’s myself for not going down there with him. Maybe if I had, he would still be alive.”
“Or you would also be dead.”
“And I would make that trade in a heartbeat,” Les said. “But there are no do-overs in diving. All Hell Divers understand the risk, and so do their families. Your father knew the risk, just as you know you might not come back from your next dive.”
Michael’s brow creased. He was obviously worried about leaving Layla and their unborn child behind when they got to Rio de Janeiro.
“I respect you for continuing to dive despite the risk,” Les said. “Your mission of saving others out there is a selfless one, Commander. My son believed in that mission, and he died for it. In a few days, we will honor his memory by diving.”
Michael smiled. “Yes, we will, Captain. You have my word.”
“Good,” Les said. “Now, go take Layla some food. You don’t want her to get grumpy.”
They parted ways, and Les walked over to grab an apple and some dried fish. He remembered Katherine’s appetite when she was pregnant with Trey and Phyl. Always famished with weird cravings, but there were never enough rations to keep her satisfied.
Despite the lack of food and the darkness of their world on the Hive, he would trade anything to go back to that life.
At least, then he would still have his boy.
On his way out of the mess hall, an alarm blared.
Red lights strobed at the end of the passageway.
One of the hatches opened, and Edgar Cervantes walked into the passageway. His dreadlocks swung as he looked left to right, then focused on Les.
“What’s going on, Captain?” he said.
“No idea,” Les said as he took off for the bridge.
Halfway there, the public address system crackled with a message from Timothy.
“General quarters,” said the AI. “All hands to their stations.”
Rounding the next corner, Les nearly slammed into Alfred and another technician.
“Sorry, Captain!” Alfred yelled.
Les kept running until he got to the bridge. Layla, Michael, and Eevi were at the sonar station, studying the screen.
“What’s going on?” Les asked.
Timothy’s hologram emerged.
“Sir, we have multiple contacts on sonar,” said the AI, “and it looks like they’re headed right for us.”
“What do you mean, ‘contacts’?” Les asked. He looked out the portholes, a chill rushing through his muscles. All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind, from other airships to mutant winged beasts.
“Life-forms, sir,” Eevi said. “On the surface.”
“Timothy, turn on frontal beams and reduce thrusters,” Les ordered.
“Aye, aye, sir,” replied the AI.
Les checked their altitude and speed. Discovery was only five hundred feet above the water and cruising at just over fifty knots. He considered using the turbofans to climb, but he knew of nothing on the surface that could reach them at these heights.
He spotted Star Grazer sailing directly ahead of them. The beams hit the warship.
“Contact General Santiago on the encrypted line,” Les said.
“Already have,” Timothy said. “They are aware of the contacts.”
The beeping from the sonar echoed in the quiet space.
“I don’t see anything down there,” Michael said, watching from a different porthole.
Eevi studied the sonar. “Whatever it is, it’s big,” she said. “And—oh, shit…”
“What?” Les said.
“Picking up another contact,” Eevi said. “Three total now.”
Les looked at the main screen that displayed the views from the cameras. The front beams captured something gliding through the choppy waters. The creature went right beneath Discovery and continued its trajectory without slowing.
“Captain,” Eevi said, glancing up, eyes wide. “Whatever those things are, they’re almost as big as Star Grazer.”
“My God,” Les said. “They weren’t looking for us. They’re after the warship!” He snapped into action. “Turn us around, Timothy. Full speed toward Star Grazer. And, Lieutenant, I want those weapons hot.”
Les thought of the Sea Wolf, sitting on the deck of the Cazador warship.
It wasn’t just Cazadores down there anymore.
There were Hell Divers on that ship.
SEVENTEEN
Rhino had planned to boat over to the trading-post rig to talk to his old teammate Mac. Instead, he found himself headed to the only maximum-security prison in Cazador territory—a place he loathed even more than the trading post.
The Shark’s Cage.
With news of the skinwalkers, he didn’t have much of a choice. Horn and his crew, whom most everyone had written off for dead, had him on edge, especially since the men likely had the warship Raven’s Claw.
Rhino pushed the throttle forward, speeding away from the Vanguard Islands.
X stood beside him, wearing Hell Diver armor and helmet. Rhino was also in full armor today, and not just because of the water.
The place they were going to was one of the most dangerous rigs—home to some of the worst Cazadores ever to draw breath—and the home of the only man to survive an encounter with the skinwalkers.
Two boats followed them to the rig. One was filled with militia soldiers, the other with Cazadores. Mercury was still patrolling the barrier, and Shadow would be back out there soon, but he wasn’t sure when Renegade would return to service.
Raven’s Claw was one of the best warships ever in the Cazadores’ fleet and could inflict a lot of damage on the islands if it returned.
The boat reached its top safe speed, its exhaust stacks jetting black smoke into the sky. They were approaching the invisible line between light and darkness.
A few minutes later, the boat broke through, and blackness swallowed them. Two miles into the darkness, rain pounded them, streaking down the windshield and his helmet.
“How much farther?” X yelled over the engine noise.
“Another twenty minutes, maybe,” Rhino said. The rig was far enough away that if anyone ever did escape from the prison, they wouldn’t be able to swim to the Vanguard Islands without being eaten by a shark first.
X folded his arms over his chest. Rhino didn’t need to see his face to know that the king’s mind was burdened with worry. He wasn’t the only one.
“King Xavier, there is something I need to tell you.”
“More bad news?” X said. “Sure, pour it on.”
Rhino took his eyes off the ocean and said, “Sir, I believe that if General Santiago does not return from Rio de Janeiro with Star Grazer, you will be overthrown in a bloody battle. A battle I can’t prevent unless drastic measures are taken—and a battle we can’t win, even if I manage to put together a team, unless we act first.”
“So you want me to kill Ada and start another war?” X said.
“This is not about Ada, King Xavier.” Rhino twisted the wheel to avoid a wave. “This is about striking first, before our enemies do.”