“Technically speaking, Jonah did murder the last captain,” mused Alexis. “So I guess you have a point there.”
“As Jonah’s physician, I forcefully discourage him from fighting anyone in his present condition,” said Hassan. “Besides, the idea of using physical force to establish a new command hierarchy is patently absurd.”
“No shit,” said Alexis. “She already kicked his ass up one way and down the other. I just don’t want to see him lose another fight. It’s happened so often it’s gotten embarrassing.”
“Don’t remind me,” groaned Jonah, wincing as he sat down. He looked at Freya for the longest time before speaking again. “I’m going to take the doc’s advice. Let’s call the rematch indefinitely postponed. Bottom line, nobody on my sub is going to twist your arm into giving up whatever’s knocking around in that blonde bat-shit locker you call a brain. Let’s keep this simple — if you feel like doing us a solid, stick around and tell me something I don’t already know. Otherwise, get the fuck out of my command compartment and find someplace on this sub where I don’t have to look at you. I’ve had it with your games.”
Freya’s face went cold as she looked to each of the three one final time. “You should have told him to fight me,” she whispered. “You won’t have a chance without my help. You’re just a bunch of tourists and amateurs with no idea what you stumbled into.”
“So tell us,” implored Alexis. “Tell us what we’re up against.”
“Why bother? I’ve known outfits like yours before, men like your captain. You’re all just followers, swarming around a clueless man who will eventually get you caught or killed. I’ve seen it happen too many times to count.”
Jonah drew himself to his feet, staggering for a moment before catching his balance. “I’ve heard what you have to say,” he said. “There are not many people who live a more precarious existence than this crew, and I’m not going to pretend we’re all best friends. That being said, there’s a damned good reason we sail together, sink or swim.”
“Also, I don’t reckon we’re looking for another captain,” added Alexis. “At least not until this one gets used up.”
Hassan stood up next to his captain, placing a supportive hand on Jonah’s back. “I helped this man escape from prison,” said the doctor. “And rightly expected his betrayal at the first opportunity. But instead, I found a man who would come to sacrifice more for me — and this crew — than any of us could have asked.”
“He’s half right,” said Jonah. “I totally planned on skipping out at the first opportunity. Still might, if I ever get around to it.”
“These guys kidnapped me,” said Alexis, shooting a sly smile at Hassan. “But they seemed nice enough, so I decided to tag along for a spell. And then it became something more. I’d normally make a joke about Stockholm syndrome, but everybody’s heard ’em already.”
Freya smirked again. “That’s adorable,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I have to admit, I expected a completely different speech. Something with more implied torture, and less kumbaya around the ol’ campfire. You got cute stories about the big black one, the little Korean one, and the Russian, too?”
“Depends on how cute you find our doc pulling bullets out of both men.” Jonah snapped. Freya started to speak, but Jonah cut her off before she could say a word. “And just so we’re clear, in Vitaly’s case, those bullets were put there by me. Oh, and the adorable stories don’t end there. Sun-Hi’s a stowaway and somebody recently murdered just about everyone she’s ever loved or cared about. You seem to know the folks responsible, but you’re determined to keep that information to yourself. You’re welcome to explain your theory of transactional relationships to her, because I ran out of anything but platitudes a long time ago. You want to know if I’m going to threaten you? Cajole you? Bargain with you? I’m stitched together with expired painkillers, waterlogged MREs, and violent notions, and my crew has been through hell. So if there is one goddamn thing you can tell me about this rogue operation—”’
“It’s not an operation. Not anymore.”
A murmur of upset and uncertainty circled the three crewmembers. Jonah let the silence fall hard. Something in Freya had changed; a far-away look shone in her eyes as she stared into empty space. A sliver of the mask had finally fallen. “What did you say?”
“It’s not an operation. It’s a man. One man.”
“The guy we tried to grab—”
“No, he was a nobody. I just needed a convenient hostage. You want Yasua Himura, founder of SABC Electronics. He’s a recluse, hasn’t set foot on land for over a decade.”
“And how do you know he’s the one responsible?”
Freya gritted her teeth. “I did things for him.”
“Like what?”
“I hurt people.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I was doing the right thing. He’d been watching me — got me out of some bad trouble in Seattle. I thought we were on the same side. I thought he wanted what I wanted. I was wrong.”
Jonah nodded, wary. He lowered himself to a squatting position, almost sitting on his wetsuit-encased heels as he leaned against the command compartment bulkhead, chin resting on folded arms atop his knees. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume this big trouble in Jet City wasn’t a few too many unpaid parking tickets.”
“I bombed a naval architecture firm. Killed someone who shouldn’t have even been there. Himura’s men found me just before the FBI did. Got me out of the country, put me to work.”
“So, it wasn’t a free ride.”
“Yeah. At first I thought the whole thing was my idea. He brought me into his inner sanctum, told me his secrets. That worm you pried off the side of your ship is nothing. His technological genius is generations past anything you could imagine. I’ve seen it down a whole squadron of fighter planes in seconds. It’s massive — hundreds of times bigger than that thing on the chart table. He calls it Meisekimu. Like it’s a woman or something. You got close— scared him — that’s why he went after you in Tokyo Harbor. He never had any real intentions of helping me with what I wanted. Himura intended to start a war the entire time, and he used me to further his plan. I still don’t know why any of this is happening. I don’t know a fucking thing about Japan or North Korea or whatever. All I know is that he said I was his perfect instrument—perfectly fucking gullible more like it.”
Jonah nodded. “He’s pissed off both sides, and now the entire region is one poorly-timed popcorn fart away from blowing up, just like he wants.”
Freya cocked her head as she stared at Jonah and Jonah alone. “I could help you kill him,” she whispered. “The one man behind all the destruction that’s been laid at your feet.”
Jonah scowled as he glanced between Freya and his crew.
“I could help you,” she implored.
“Then tell me how.”
“I know what ship he’s on.”
“Useless. Even if I had a place to start looking — which I don’t — he’s probably already gone dark, and I can’t track his transponder. All those games — is that really the best you had?”
“You have to kill him. You have to,” Freya was almost begging now, her knuckles white as she half-grabbed at the air in impotent anger.