Another rumble came from deep within the island's bowels as more pieces of the roof crumbled and fell into the harbor.
He grabbed the scooter and his dive mask. No time to get the tank. He'd have to hold his breath on the other side of the tunnel's entrance.
Just as he slipped the mask over his face, another loud crash reverberated from the dock. The U-boat smashed into what remained, driving its nose through the platform. The catwalk above creaked and collapsed, dropping the two mercenaries atop it to the splintering floor below.
The lights on the far wall flickered, and Sean grabbed the scooter, hefting it back into the water. In an instant, the room went pitch black as the generator powering the lights fell into the water. Sean switched on the scooter's LEDs and slipped into frigid liquid.
He mashed the accelerator and pushed off the rock ledge with his feet, propelling him forward. He zoomed through the water, keeping his eyes on the tunnel entrance. The rock formation shook violently as the submarine on the other side of the room drove hard into the wall. A chunk of the tunnel archway collapsed into the water with a splash, just to the left of where Sean was headed. He put his head down and guided the scooter forward and into the passage. Behind him, the roof continued to collapse, sending wave after wave of water into the corridor. He looked back as the sections of rock began falling more frequently, but he couldn't see what was going on.
Keep your eyes ahead, he told himself.
Sean reached the end of the cave's passage where he would have to go under to get out. He pumped his lungs full with quick, successive breaths, and then took one long one before tilting the scooter downward. He raced along the top edge of the cave entrance and within a few seconds was out in the open sea again. His lungs started to burn as he angled the scooter up toward the surface, pushing the machine to its utmost capacity.
He swallowed, fighting off the ever-growing urge to inhale. Sean had never been great at holding his breath. He could do forty-five seconds, maybe sixty if he pushed it; right now he felt like he was capable of half that.
His eyes winced, and he almost gave in when the front of the scooter broke through the surface and burst into the freezing air. He gasped, taking in huge gulps of air, his lungs finally relieved. He pulled back the dive mask and looked around. The Mark V still sat in the water, bobbing back and forth in the waves. In the chaos, he'd managed to put Irena's .22 back in his belt.
Sean switched off the scooter's lights and turned it toward the navy boat. It was time to go home.
22
Sean walked across the black marble floor, through the cavernous lobby of Axis HQ, to the first of three security checkpoints. Two armed guards holding Heckler & Koch submachine guns stood on either side of the metal detector. Sean held up his badge at the check in table and handed over his sidearm before passing through.
The next station required a retina scan, and he leaned forward into the wall panel to allow the machine to confirm his identity.
Since moving Axis headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, security measures had been greatly increased. The upgrades were things that Emily had been calling for over the course of the last few years, and finally, funding was made available.
Sean arrived at the last checkpoint and put his finger onto a scanner that reconfirmed his identity. A light within a steel panel flashed green, and the heavy metal door in front of him swung open. On the other side, the corridor narrowed into a long hallway with a twenty-foot ceiling. Elevators on either side provided six options for ascending the building. He chose the first one on the left and pressed the button.
The doors opened instantly and revealed a tall man in a black suit.
"Welcome back, Agent Zero," the man said with a straight face.
"Thank you, James. Good to be back, I think." He nodded at the man.
"Emily's office?"
"Yes, sir."
The man reached out and pressed the button for the twentieth floor, and the doors closed.
When they reached their destination, Sean said goodbye to James and proceeded down the sterile, gray hallway. It was lit by brushed steel sconces imbedded in the walls near the ceiling, giving off a pale-white glow. He passed a server room surrounded by windows of four-inch-thick glass. Rumor had it that the glass was enriched with lead as an extra measure of security. At the end of the hall, he turned right and walked all the way to the end where a nondescript wooden door was half open. Two muted glass windows ran the length of the door on either side of it, blurring the view of whoever and whatever was inside.
When Sean reached the threshold, he knocked twice.
"Come in," Emily's voice carried through the doorway.
Sean pushed the door open and stepped inside the office. He'd been there only once before, and the room's minimalist design caused him to think his Axis director had done all her shopping at a certain Swedish furniture store on the other side of town. Everything in the room screamed utilitarian, which he didn't hate but thought was unimaginative. Sean was surprised to see a second familiar face sitting in one of the chairs across from Emily's desk. It was President Dawkins.
He stood up and extended a hand to Sean, which he took and shook firmly.
"Glad to have you back, Sean…I mean, Zero," he corrected himself.
"Thank you, sir. Good to be back in the saddle."
The president motioned for Sean to take a seat next to him. "Is it?" the man asked.
Sean tilted his head to the side. "Like I told Emily, the world doesn't have enough people to fight for justice. As long as I'm breathing, I'll do what I can to uphold that fight. Besides, it's what I do well."
"It most certainly is." The president stared at him for a few seconds with a look of admiration. "You know the directors of the other agencies are crawling down my back to get you to go work for them."
Sean grinned. "I don't trust them." He cast a wry glance Emily's way and winked at her, to which she blushed and shook her head.
Dawkins chuckled. "Neither do I. Which is why I wouldn't let you transfer even if you wanted to. Plus, I understand you two have a special deal worked out. You're not officially on the payroll, correct?"
"Not officially, sir."
"Well, that's fine with me." He slapped his knee. "Whatever works best for you; I'm just glad we can have you when the need arises."
Sean nodded but said nothing.
Emily entered the conversation. "Zero, can you please fill us in on the details of the mission?"
"Sure."
Sean gave a detailed yet concise summary of what had happened, from Poland to Argentina. He told them about the U-boat and the device he'd destroyed during his escape, as well as Admiral McClain's betrayal and Dr. Ott's deception. Then he relayed how he had managed to escape the cavern's collapse, take out the last SEAL on the Mark V with a .22-caliber handgun, and then drive the boat back to the crescent harbor in the city. He deliberately left out the part regarding Dothan. There was the possibility he would need the man's services again in the future, and the less anyone else knew about him, the better. Not to mention Sean felt like he owed the pilot that courtesy.
"It's a shame about Admiral McClain," the president commented. "He was so close to retirement."
"Greed makes people do irrational things, sir," Sean said.
"Are you sure he and Dr. Ott are both dead?" Emily asked the question she'd had on her mind.
Sean shook his head. "No way to confirm, Em. I'd be surprised if anyone made it out alive. When we went back the next day, the entire cave had collapsed on itself. There was no way in or out."