It was Jaideep. He stood at the next landing, still clutching his rifle. Michael hurried with Layla’s support, a sudden burst of energy fueling his body. He had a feeling he knew what this was about.
They trekked through the rest of the stealth warship in silence but for the click of their boots on the metal deck. When they reached the bridge, everyone was already there. Les, Katrina, Trey, and Jaideep stood near the portholes, looking out over the dark sky. Edgar sat in a chair, a bandage wrapped around his muscular torso.
“Captain,” Layla said as they entered.
Katrina turned and smiled warmly at Michael. “How are you, Commander?”
“Well enough, I suppose. What’s this all about?”
Waves burst over the bow, and the ship pitched forward a few degrees. Michael groped for Layla, who helped steady him.
“Have a seat, Michael,” Katrina said.
“No, thanks. I’m okay standing. Tell me what’s going on. Is it X? Did something happen to X and Mags?” Michael caught Katrina’s gaze.
“Magnolia and X found the Metal Islands,” she said.
Layla held Michael tighter, and Jaideep stopped fidgeting with his gold earring. Edgar stood, trying to keep a straight face through the pain he was surely experiencing.
Trey was first to speak. “Where? Where are they?”
“Off the western Virgin Islands,” Katrina said. “But before we celebrate, I have bad news. Things didn’t go to plan when the Sea Wolf arrived. After receiving the initial messages from Magnolia, we received a message from Timothy Pepper.”
She pushed a button on the station beside where she stood.
“Captain DaVita, this is Timothy Pepper. The Sea Wolf has been raided by Cazadores. Magnolia and Miles have been captured, and Commander Rodriguez is currently pursuing the men who took them.”
Michael’s heart sank at the news, and all the energy he had felt earlier drained away. His knees suddenly felt as if they were going to buckle.
A second message followed the first.
“I will continue to report any updates until the batteries are drained or the Sea Wolf is destroyed.”
The feed shut off, and Michael stumbled past Katrina. Layla reached out for him, but he evaded her grip.
“Where’s the comm station?” he said. For the first time in hours, he was thinking about something other than the pain.
He moved from station to station as Layla called out after him.
“Michael, calm down.”
Katrina followed him and then pointed toward a row of stations near a cracked glass window.
“I’ve already changed course,” she said.
He stopped and turned to face the other divers.
“We’re on our way to the coordinates Magnolia sent, but we’re a long way from them,” Katrina said. “And, Michael, I know this is going to sting, because I can hardly bear the thought myself. But for all we know, they’re already dead.”
“No. They’re alive,” Michael replied.
“Perhaps,” Les said, “but by the time we get there, they probably will be—assuming we have enough battery to even get there at all. I’m sorry, Commander. We’re just stating the truth.”
Michael looked down at the archaic radio controls, trying to figure out where the handset was. Reaching out with his right stump, he tried to grab it, but his reflexes still hadn’t registered that he was missing an arm.
Michael swore, frustration breaking through. He swiped the handset off the station, but with only one hand, he had no way of turning the dial.
“Tin,” Layla whispered.
When he turned, everyone was staring at him.
“Someone fucking help me contact Timothy!” he snapped.
Les moved over and spun the knob to the channel he was apparently using to talk to the Sea Wolf.
“Timothy, this is Commander Everhart. Do you copy?” Michael said.
Static.
He could feel the eyes on his back, but he didn’t care.
“Timothy, do you copy?”
A long flurry of white noise ensued, and then a voice.
“Roger, Commander Everhart, this is Timothy Pepper of the Sea Wolf.”
Michael blinked away the stars before his vision, pushing out a tear. He didn’t care who saw it.
“Timothy, do you know where X is now? How about Miles and Magnolia?”
“X is still giving chase and is reporting multiple contacts.”
“Define ‘multiple,’” Michael replied.
“Thousands. There are thousands of Cazadores, maybe more. They are well armed, too, sir. I’m still picking up the beacons for Miles and Magnolia, so I know they are alive.”
Katrina stepped up next to Michael, her arms folded across her chest.
“Pepper, this is Captain DaVita. Can you tell us exactly how many of these platforms there are?”
“I count twenty within sight, Captain. It’s possible there are even more Cazadores in other locations. But again, this is just a guess based on what I can see from my current location and what Commander Rodriguez has been reporting.”
“Keep us updated,” Michael said. “We’re on our way.”
“Roger, sir.”
Michael slowly lowered the handset back into its slot on the station. Then he sat in the leather chair, holding his bandaged stump, defeated.
“They have an army,” Les said. “More than an army.”
Everyone looked to Katrina.
“We have to find a way to contact Deliverance,” she said. “The ship is armed with missiles and nukes.”
“You want to nuke the Metal Islands?” Les stammered.
“Of course not. But I want to bring all the firepower to this fight that we can. We have four hundred and seventy-two passengers aboard Deliverance and the Hive. We can’t put them all at risk.”
Michael felt Katrina studying him in the shadows.
“We’re down to a handful of Hell Divers,” she said, “and from the sounds of it, there are a lot of Cazadores. I can’t risk the lives on the Hive and Deliverance for a chance at taking this as our future home, and we can’t destroy this future home, either.”
Michael knew he wasn’t in any condition to fight, but there had to be a way to fight the Cazadores and save X, Magnolia, and Miles.
“We have to try something,” he said. “We’re Hell Divers. We don’t give up. We do what it takes, even when the mission looks impossible. That’s what has kept us alive in the sky all these years.”
Katrina nodded. “I’ve got a plan, Commander. I just need time to allow it to work.”
X was running out of time and gasoline. The gauge on the WaveRunner said the damn thing was almost out of fuel. He steered toward the flaming wreckage of the fishing boat he had stopped with a grenade.
Pulling up alongside, he swung up onto the deck and searched for gasoline. Two rusted canisters sat inside a crate with an open lid. He grabbed them both and returned to the WaveRunner.
“You got any updates on Mags and Miles?” X asked over the channel to Timothy. The AI was still within range and monitoring the beacons for Magnolia and Miles.
“They’re still on the move, sir.”
“Are they still alive?” X was afraid to ask, but he had to know.
“Yes, according to their life-support readings.”
X unscrewed the plastic top from the tank on the WaveRunner, looking up as he worked. The Sea Wolf drifted in the distance, the sails both burned away and the mast broken at the top. The last wisps of gray smoke drifted away from the disabled craft.
“What about Katrina? Have you been able to reach her again?”