Weapon of Atlantis (32 page)

“Jack, you listening,” Javi asked now in a forceful tone.

“Javi, I’m sittin
g right next to you. Of course I’m listening,” he shot back sarcastically. “We’re almost to the top. If I can just keep the nose correctly positioned for a few more minutes, I think we’ll make it,” he explained.

More water rushed in and sloshed between the two. It bounced off the forward door and rushed backward, creating a tiny wave. As it moved through the cockpit, it rolled over the tops of the holograms and control panels.
Instantly, all lights went dim.

“Oh Shit!” Jack blurted. “We’ve lost all power.”

Another wave rolled from the rear of the craft and slammed into the cockpit, completely dousing them with water. One moment, the water was at their knees, the next it was near their chests.

“The craft’s sinking. Let’s
get out of here?” Javi shouted frantically.

Jack leapt to his feet and waded to the door. He moved his hand over the half-submerged control panel. Nothing happened. He shook his hand in front of it, then tapped it several times.

“Oh no, I was afraid of this,” he said. “We’ve lost all power to the doors. We can’t get out.”

“What do you mean, ‘we can’t get out’? There’s got to be some way to get out of here,” Javi responded in near hysterical tone.

Jack turned from the door and stared sadly at Javi.

“That’s the only doo
r there is. I’m sorry,” he said sympathetically.

Javi brushed past Jack. He banged his fist on the panel just above waterline.

“No no no… this can’t be it. This can’t be the end,” he cried out in anguish.

As the nose of the craft rotated downward, more water rushed in, filling the cockpit nearly to the top. Now completely submerged, Jack
ripped off his facemask and tank and pushed off the floor, rocketing to the ceiling. He broke into a small area of trapped air. He waited momentarily, took a deep breath, then pushed off the ceiling with his hands. Underwater, he grabbed the material on Javi’s shoulders and pulled him higher. A second later, both men squeezed their heads into the tiny pocket.

Javi pulled his mask from his face and blurted frantically,
“Jack, we’re going to die.”

Jack stared back, unable and unwilling to admit defeat. He looked up through the glass ceiling toward the ocean’s surface. A glimmer of hope filled his mind, then quickly vanished as he watched divers swimming down toward the spacecraft. Seeing Jack’s focus, Javi looked up and smiled in relief.

“We’re saved,” he shouted euphorically. “Jack, they’re coming to get us. We’re going to make it.”

A sad expression crossed Jack’s face. He tried to hide it, but his eyes registered the truth. Javi stared for a moment, then realized reality.

“They’re not coming to save us, are they?” he said in a low somber tone.

Jack placed his hand on his friends shoulder and shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could think of to say.

Javi’s eyes welled with tears. H
is face became a beacon of torment.

“My God, what will Berta and Serena say when they get the news? My poor family. I can’t believe I did this too them,” he said in sorrowful anguish. “I haven’t told them I loved them. Jack, we can’t die. I
have
to tell them I love them.”

Tears streamed down Javi’s face as he remembered the sweet faces of his family and the suffering they’d have to bear from his death.

Jack’s eyes began to water at the sight of Javi’s pain. He’d gladly trade his own life to save his friends’. His mind raced, trying to find words to soothe his heartache. Nothing he could think of could ever relieve his friend’s pain or guilt.

Looking up through the glass ceiling at the descending
divers, he felt hatred for the men that would soon cause their deaths. He wanted to escape, if only just to see them dead. Suddenly, he saw a set of hieroglyphics scrawled along the edge of the glass. He looked back down to his friend, then into the water that filled the cockpit.

“I’ll be right back,” he said purposefully.

Before Javi could respond, Jack took a deep breath and disappeared into the water below. Javi watched anxiously as Jack fumbled in the darkness. Moments later, he reappeared, squeezing his face into the ever shrinking pocket. As both men struggled to breathe in the last bit of air, Jack began to speak:

“Listen to me very closely…” he started.

----- ----- ----- -----

Price and Hammond watched through the large open door in the helicopter as the dive team descended toward the spacecraft. Apprehension surged within them at the sight of the craft slowly sinking. Floating just above the dive team, the men of Horizon Two looked over the side of the boat and monitored their progress.

“Looking good so far,” Price said aloud.

“Thankfully it’s not sinking that fast. I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to
get a line on it before we lose it,” Hammond added.

As both men stared down with binoculars, they continued to discuss the operation.

“Once Horizon Two has a rope on it, we can tow it back to the ship,” Price said, matter-of-factly.

Hammond nodded. He searched the skies with his binoculars, then turned to Price.

“I hate these daylight operations. They really make me nervous,” he admitted.

Price nodded, still watching the operation below.

“I know what you mean. We should be doing this at night. The Britt’s and the Russians are already watching us. I’m sure they suspect something’s going on here by now,” he responded.

Hammond looked up at the sky as if he were watching an object.

“We’ve got about an hour before the next satellite passes through. It really doesn’t leave us much time, does it?” he said.

“We’ve had tighter timelines. We
should be ok,” Price responded confidently.

“Too bad we had to shoot the thing full of holes,” Hammond said.

Price nodded, then turned to Hammond.

“It’s too bad we lost Wexler too,” he said with an edge to his voice.

“Those guys have really given us a lot of grief. I’ll be glad to be rid of them,” Hammond responded acidly.

Price nodded, then said,
“They may not be dead yet.”

“That won’t be a problem,”
Hammond said with a sardonic grin.

Price grinned knowingly, then returned to his binoculars. Hammond did the same. The
y watched for a moment, then noticed strange activity beneath the ocean’s surface.

Suddenly, an enormous bubble of air expanded just above the spacecraft. It grew in size, then quickly rose to the surface. A second later, a
voluminous plume of water burst into the air, followed by a thunderous explosion. As the fountain of water erupted, the cockpit seats from the spacecraft were hurled skyward. They rushed straight up past the helicopter, rising to more than five hundred feet in the air, then arced across the sky.

Price instantly reacted.

“Targets ejected. Track ‘em and fire!” he shouted in shock and anger. “Get those son of a bitches.”

Within seconds, the men of the Horizon Two chase boat sprang to action. As Javi and Jack drifted helplessly through the sky, the boat surged from its location. Charging at full speed, the crew open fired, sending hundreds of round of lead in
to the air. Right behind them, Price and Hammond followed in Horizon One.

As they stared through their binoculars, they ground their teeth in anger.

“When I get my hands on them, I can promise you it won’t be a quick death,” Hammond spat.

“You’ll have to wai
t your turn,” Price shot back with morbid humor.

----- ----- ----- -----

Col. Taylor stared out his windscreen at the bright flashes on the horizon. Instantly, he understood the significance. Even before he could say a word, Maj, Addison responded.

“Sir, we have gun fire. They must be firing on the targets,” he shouted enthusiastically.

Col. Taylor instantly keyed his mic.

“Targets are under attack. Col. Martin, you take the helicopter on the left, I’ll take the watercraft on the right. We’ll link up after and engage the container ship,” he ordered in rapid sequence.

“Aye aye,” Col. Martin responded simply.

Within s
econds, both men broke off from their flight path. Col. Taylor banked hard right, then back left to line up on his targets. As a solid-tone beacon sounded inside his cockpit, he pressed the trigger on his joystick, releasing the AIM-120 rocket. The missile streaked across the sky. A moment later, a large fiery explosion erupted on the horizon. The Mark-V chase boat disintegrated in a ball of fire, instantly killing all aboard.

Col. Martin lined up his
F/A-18F on the distant helicopter. He heard the solid-tone beacon and squeezed his trigger. A smile crossed his face as he watched the rocket created a bright white streak in the sky.

----- ----- ----- -----

Price and Hammond stared in horror at the sight of the chase craft. In that instant, they knew they had only seconds to live. They scanned the sky with their binoculars. A second later, terror overcame them as they watched death approach.

“Oh no!” Price said in petrified tone.

Just before impact, Hammond let out a blood curdling scream. He jumped from the open door of the helicopter to escape his fate… but only too late. The missile tore into the skin of the aircraft and exploded. Fire and metal ripped flesh from its bones. In seconds, all men were dead.

----- ----- ----- -----

A half mile away, thrusters ignited on Javi’s and Jack’s ejection seats. As they descended to the sea, they watched in satisfaction and relief, the last remains of their enemy sink into the ocean.

The splashdown into the water was gentle. Jack unbuckled his harness just before impact. As he sunk beneath the ocean’s surface, he kicked from the ejection seat and swam to the top. Treading water in the three foot seas, he floated on his back momentarily to regain his energy. He took several breaths of air, then sat upright. Looking off to his left, he spotted Javi. Immediately, he turned on his stomach and began to swim.

Javi floated aimlessly on the surface. Still breathing heavily from the excitement, he treaded water while lying on his back. Looking up at the sky, he pictured in his mind, his wife and daughter. A great smile crossed his face.

Overhead, the loud whine of engines sounded as both jets passed over Jack’s and Javi’s location. They rocked their wings in assurance.

“Javi, you alright?” Jack shouted, now fifty feet away.

Javi rolled to his stomach, then bobbed upright in the water. He waved frantically and yelled a joyful howl.

“Jack, we made it!” he shouted. “We’re alive.”

“And they’re dead,” Jack shouted, between breaths.

Javi waited as Jack neared. He reached out his hand. Jack grabbed it, each man pulling the other in. They hugged only a moment, then rolled on their backs, continuing to tread water. For a moment, they reveled in their silence.

“Nice weather we’re having,” Jack said, breaking the
quiet.

“Very nice,” Javi responded, carrying the humor.

“I was thinking about taking in a movie later. Care to join me?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m having my nails done later,”
Javi replied humorously.

Jack grinned.

“Gotta hand it to Inspector DiApopolus. He sure knows how to get things done,” Javi said, now focusing on their rescue.