No. You have to keep…
He heard Miles barking. Or was it his imagination?
X squirmed harder, finally freeing the knife. It slid out of his grip, and he grabbed it with his other hand, then slashed through the netting.
His lungs burned, and he fought the urge to suck in seawater, all the while sawing away at the netting.
He finally got free and kicked back under the boat, toward the port side. Pausing to tread water in the space between the Sea Wolf and the Cazador boat, he caught his breath and blinked away the blur. His vision finally cleared, and he prepared to flank the enemy soldier.
Another scrambled transmission flared over the channel, but this one he couldn’t make out.
He continued swimming in the space between the two boats, when the yacht’s engines revved, churning the water behind him and launching the boat away.
Though caught in the wake, he managed to grab on to something hanging off the gunwale of the Sea Wolf as the props thrust him away.
The moving water pulled him, and the strand of barbed wire that he had unwittingly grabbed cinched tight around his gloved hand, cutting into the flesh. The wire uncoiled from the rail as the yacht’s wake pushed him backward.
He fought the prop wash, treading and watching as the yacht sped away. Working the wire with both hands, he finally managed to get free, but the damage was already done. Blood leaked from several cuts.
He kicked back to the port side and looked over the rail. The Cazador who had netted him was still peering over the starboard gunwale, searching the water with his rifle.
X slowly pulled himself up, wincing from the pain in his hand. As soon as his boots hit the deck, he was running. Halfway across the deck, he slipped and fell.
The Cazador whirled with his rifle aimed at X, laughing.
“Ahora mueres,” the man said.
X rolled left as the man pulled the trigger. Bullets slammed into the deck.
A snapping sound came from across the boat, followed by a guttural “Oomph!”
He braced for the bullets, but they never came. X pushed himself off the deck and walked over to the Cazador, who was now pinned by a spear to the cabin wall. The soldier held on to the shaft that had impaled his chest, right through the octopus logo.
“Are you okay, Commander?” said a voice over the comms.
Realization set in as X approached the man. Timothy had saved his hide by firing one of the mounted spearguns.
Blood trickled out of the soldier’s mouth as he tried to say something to X.
“I’m fine, Pepper. Where are Miles and Mags?”
“They took them. I’m sorry, sir. I couldn’t…”
X walked back to the man and used his knife to trace a line across his throat. He wiped the blade on the Cazador’s chest before resheathing it.
“There is something called a WaveRunner not far from here,” Timothy said. “You can take that to go after Magnolia and Miles. I’m also going to replay the audio from their capture, translated into English, to help you.”
X watched with grim satisfaction as the Cazador took his last gurgling breaths. The guy was a strong bastard, and he kicked several times before his eyes finally rolled up in his head.
“Listen to this, Commander,” Timothy said.
The translated message crackled in his helmet.
“Let’s take this firecracker back to el Pulpo. We’re going to get a handsome fee for this one.”
“What about the dog?”
“Maybe he will let us eat it.”
“Julio, you stay here and make sure that other guy is dead. We’ll send boats back later to get you and to scavenge this wreck.”
The translation ceased, and X looked out over the water. He could see the WaveRunner. It would take him a while to swim there. He hurried over to start gathering the weapons and supplies he would need to save Miles and Mags.
“I’ll keep transmitting as long as I can, but I have a feeling this might be the last time we speak,” Timothy said.
“Thanks, Pepper,” X said. “For the record, I’m glad I didn’t shut you down.”
NINETEEN
Katrina stood on the bridge of the naval warship, looking out over the broad deck and a helicopter landing pad. Gun turrets and machine guns pointed at the dark waters ahead.
Jaideep patrolled outside, his blue battery unit glowing in the darkness, holding one of the two laser rifles they had brought back from Red Sphere.
Katrina had considered going back for more of the weapons and the satellite dish to help boost their signal. They still hadn’t been able to contact Deliverance, the Hive, or the Sea Wolf, but she decided it was too risky to return to the facility. Who knew how many more robots were waiting inside the facility below Red Sphere?
No, for now they needed to stay the course, even if it felt as if they were drifting farther away from their home.
Deliverance was still hovering twenty-five thousand feet above Red Sphere, where she had instructed Ensign White to remain until further orders.
She moved over to the helm, where Layla had connected her minicomputer to start the ship. The powerful device was almost the same thing as having an AI on board, with the added benefit that they didn’t have to worry about the computers killing them.
Katrina brushed the dust off a plaque on the bulkhead, centered between two portholes.
Hundreds of years ago, a naval officer, maybe even a captain, had once stood on the bridge where she was now—someone with a family, with hopes, with dreams. They had given orders that affected not only the lives of their crew, but also the lives of thousands, maybe even millions, of others. Those orders had likely helped lead to the events that left Katrina in charge of some of the last survivors of the human race.
The irony wasn’t lost on her.
Her last orders had killed two precious Hell Divers and injured two more. A tarp covered the headless corpse of Erin Jenkins, a few rooms away. At least they had been able to bring her body onto the ship. There was some consolation in knowing she wasn’t still back there.
The same couldn’t be same for Ramon Ochoa. The green diver was forever lost to the cold waters. The thought sent a chill through Katrina. It was odd to think that a man who had spent his entire life in the sky would spend eternity in the darkness of the vast sea, never having set foot on solid earth.
But, of course, he wasn’t the first diver left behind. Plenty of others had left their frozen bones back in Hades and elsewhere.
She studied the plaque another moment. What had happened to the crew? Why hadn’t the machines used this boat to leave Red Sphere after killing Dr. Diaz and his team?
“Captain, can we have a moment,” said a deep voice.
She turned to see Les and Layla entering the bridge.
“How are Michael and Edgar?” she asked them.
“They’ll both be okay, but Michael is…” Layla lowered her gaze.
“He’s a tough diver,” Katrina said. “Try not to worry. We need to stay positive.”
“Any luck contacting Deliverance?” asked Les, stepping forward.
She shook her head. “Still can’t break through that electrical storm. Haven’t been able to reach the Hive or the Sea Wolf, either.”
“At least you got what you wanted, right?” Layla asked.