She exchanged a glance with Les, who nodded back.
“Shit,” Katrina said.
“There’s something else, Captain,” Dave said. “I’ve got some good news. We have reestablished contact with the Sea Wolf, and X is waiting to speak with you.”
Michael couldn’t help but throw a fist in the air. Layla and Les both clapped, but Erin didn’t show a glimmer of emotion.
“Great news,” Katrina said. “Tell X I’ll connect with him in a few minutes.”
“Roger, Captain.”
Whatever misgivings Michael had about this mission vanished at the news. X was out there risking his neck once again for humanity, with Magnolia by his side. The least Michael could do was check out Red Sphere with the other divers.
He had been itching to dive, anyway.
“Kat, all due respect, but going to Cuba is a bad idea—no, it’s a terrible fucking idea.”
“If you had any respect, you would refer to me as ‘Captain DaVita,’ and you would also understand that the title gives me the right to make decisions for those under my care.”
X took in a scent of unfiltered air that reeked of fish. Same old Kat, he thought. It was definitely an improvement on her predecessor. A lot had happened in the ten years they were apart, including her relationship with Leon Jordan, and a failed pregnancy, but she was still strong despite the trauma of having fallen in love with a madman and losing her child.
“Captain,” he said after a few seconds’ pause, “I do respect you, and I respect the lives of those in your care, which is why I’m out here looking for the Metal Islands.”
“Our course is set, X, so save your breath,” she replied.
He licked his lips, his stomach growling at the smell coming from inside the kitchen several doors down the passage.
“Is Michael with you?” X asked. He already had a feeling he knew the answer, but he needed to hear it.
“Yes. He will be leading the mission to the ITC facility.”
X’s eyes went to the floor, where Miles sat at his feet. The dog wagged his tail. There wasn’t much better in life than the love of a dog, besides the love of a human.
And X had always loved Tin.
“I want to talk to him before he dives,” X said.
“I can arrange that.” She waited a few seconds before adding, “Is there anything else? I thought you wanted to talk to me.”
“Only to let you know our status.”
“And now you know ours.”
X heard a slight softening in her tone. She had told him a decade earlier there was still a place for him in her heart, but was that still true?
He would always care for her.
But Michael came first. X had made the boy’s father a promise long ago that he would look after him.
“You stay safe out there, Captain,” X said. “And look after Michael.”
“Michael is more than capable of taking care of himself. Kind of like you, old man.”
X grinned and licked a chipped tooth. “Who you calling old, lady?”
She chuckled. “Be safe, X. I’ll have Michael radio you before the dive.”
“Okay.” He hung up the receiver.
“Come on, boy,” he said. “Pepper, you got the wheel.”
Miles followed him out of the command center and into the passage. His stomach growled at the intoxicating scent of barbecue. It had been a while since he ate anything from the real world.
Back in the wastes, he had tried his fair share of mutant creatures, swallowing antirad pills after each meal. Birds and lizards had found their way onto his plate, but X had never tried fish before.
He unslung his rifle and opened the hatch to the tiny galley. Magnolia turned from the grill. She had a bandage wrapped around the top of her head. A bloodstain marked the top, but it didn’t seem to be bothering her.
His arm was feeling better already, too. The gel had taken only a few hours to work, and the infection had subsided greatly.
“Have a seat,” she said, gesturing toward the table.
She held a pan over the grill, with two generous shark steaks sizzling inside. Grabbing a pinch of packaged seasoning from the Hive, she sprinkled it over the meat.
“Smells pretty good,” X said.
Magnolia shrugged a shoulder. “We’ll know in a few minutes how it tastes.”
He flattened his body and sat around the oval table where they ate most of their meals. Miles jumped onto the padded cushion next to him and rested his body against the bulkhead.
“You talk with the captain?” Magnolia asked. She kept her back to him while she cooked, probably because she didn’t want to look him in the eye. She knew he was upset with her for sending off the Cuba coordinates.
“Yeah.”
“And?” Magnolia flipped both steaks in the pan and added a touch of seasoning to the other side.
“They’re on their way to Red Sphere, and she’s planning a dive.”
“Is Michael with them?”
“And Layla and Erin and our long, tall friend Les.”
She finally turned from the two-burner grill.
“I’m sorry, X. I didn’t send that info so they would come after us.”
X laced his fingers together and raised them behind his head, resting them against the bulkhead. He knew she was lying, but he was too tired and too hungry to argue.
“Okay, well, maybe I was hoping they would, but I promise I didn’t…”
The vessel rocked slightly, and she pulled her hand away from the grill. “Ouch!”
Timothy’s voice came over the speakers. “Prepare for choppy seas.”
“Could have used some prior warning,” Magnolia grunted.
“My apologies,” Timothy replied.
She shook her burned hand.
“You okay?” X asked.
“Yeah… I’m fine.”
She turned back to the grill, and he touched the screen built inside the table and pulled up a map of their location. The Sea Wolf, running on only one engine, was slowly working south from the Turks and Caicos Islands toward Hispaniola.
They had a lot of ground left to cover, and he was starting to worry about their battery power. Without the ability to use their sails, if they lost the other battery, they would be at the mercy of the seas.
“All right,” Magnolia said. “Hope this is good.”
She brought two plates over from the grill, each with a shark steak and a small pile of frozen greens from the farm on the Hive.
Miles stood on the seat and sniffed at X’s plate.
“Hold on, boy; I didn’t forget about you,” she said, heading back to the grill. She grabbed a bowl and brought it back to Miles, setting it down on the table in front of him.
He sniffed the contents.
“What is that?” X asked. “Looks like cat food.”
“How do you know what cat food looks like?”
“Because I ate some when I was stranded on the surface five years ago.”
Magnolia scrunched her brows together as she took a seat at the table.
“Just kidding,” he said, chuckling. “But I did find some and opened the can. One of the worst things I’ve ever smelled… one of them.”
“You’d have to be pretty desperate to eat that.”
“Or have a death wish. Botulism has killed a few people on the Hive.”
She cut into the shark, eyeing it suspiciously. “And you’re sure this is safe to eat?”
“I tested it for heavy metals, radiation, and other toxins. Came back okay.”
Miles was already done scarfing down his bowl of mushed-up shark meat by the time X picked up his steak with his hand. He didn’t bother using utensils.
Magnolia watched him take the first bite.
He swallowed a hunk. It was closer to bird than to pig and actually had a good, gamy flavor.