Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 59

Jake heaved the twin air tanks onto a table with a grunt. He inspected the hoses and fixtures connecting his breathing regulator to his oxygen supply. The needles for both gauges registered in the green, at 3,000 P.S.I., showing each canister was full and ready for use. Tony stood beside him, going through the same list of pre-dive checks. Both men had already donned their neoprene wet suits. He was about to ask Tony if he had any lingering doubts about their plan when a voice behind him snatched his attention.

"I want you to be careful," Cat said. "You've seen what these men can do. They will kill you if given the chance. If you think they won't put a bullet in your head, you're―"

"One thing we are not... is mistaken." Jake finished her sentence, a hard look of fortitude etched on his rugged face. Whiskers coated his cheeks with several days of growth. "This won't be the first time we've encountered trouble. We've saved Sarah before, remember? We can do it again."

"I want you to be careful."

"Trust me. We realize what's at stake here. We won't let you or Director Hardy down."

Cat's gaze combed over him. He knew she was once again wondering whether she could place her confidence in him and Tony. Though he had doubts, he did his best to hide them from her. In the past, confidence had always been his strong suit. Since Paradise Island, his psyche had taken a hit, but not anymore. Gone were the dreadful dreams and visions haunting him lately. Maybe he should look deeper into them to see if he could gain something. But at the moment, his attention and focus remained on Sarah alone.

Tony offered his support. "We know how to think on our feet. We'll have our comm systems up and running, so if we run into trouble, you'll be the first to know."

"Yeah, but your hardware is wired into your dive mask," Cat replied. "You won't have anything once on the ship."

"We'll stash our gear and check in when we can, if it still picks up in there," Jake said. "Dalton thinks it won't because of the ship's double hull, but maybe he's wrong." He looked at her with a confident stare. "We can do this." He tossed in a cute grin.

"Your charm is lost on me, Jake. You think Dalton is right, don't you? That's why you refuse to take hand radios. Because you know they'd be useless inside the ship."

"I don't think my charm is lost on you." He watched a smile surface on her face. "Did you get what I asked for?"

"It wasn't hard to do." Cat walked across the moon pool room and hoisted a waterproof canvas bag over her shoulder. She set it down next to Jake's air tanks. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"We need an insurance policy, if you know what I mean."

Cat gestured toward the moon pool. "Go. Get out of here before I change my mind."

Jake and Tony did as they were told. They strapped on their tanks, pulled down their dive masks and plunged into the water.

Their DPVs rested on the pool's ledge. This time, they wouldn't be using the larger ones. Earlier, when they discovered the icebreaker's moon pool, it occurred to Jake that they might need to be more discreet this time around. Instead, they would cover the distance to Zanderthal's ship with a pair of lightweight hand-held cruisers. The bullet shaped models worked by holding the DPV out in front. Enclosed propellers would pull them through the water at a brisk pace. The scooters would be less obvious under the water than the bigger DPVs. Jake remembered feeling vulnerable on their initial recon mission. With the skies darkening by the minute, he hoped their approach to the hulking vessel would be unnoticeable to those onboard the Hercules Australis.

Jake and Tony bumped knuckles in a solemn gesture of unity. They knew what they had to do. No words of encouragement were necessary.

Jake gave Cat a reassuring thumb in the air and then he and Tony submerged into the depths below the Atlantis. This time, they ate up the water between the research ship and the Hercules Australis in less than thirty minutes. Captain Oliver aided them by nudging the Atlantis a mile closer during the day—still out of visual sight because a sliver of land extended into the bay, separating the two ships. The new position would help them get aboard quicker. All they had to do was add a bit of a curve to their route in order to go around the easternmost tip of the land. Once again, stealth was their biggest edge over Zanderthal's men. If they lost the element of surprise, they might find themselves dead before boarding the ship.

The ocean turned murky because of the evaporating sunlight. But in due time, the icebreaker came into view, with the anchor planted in the sand. As they got closer, the great chain lurched up with a stir of water, lifting the hefty anchor from the seabed.

The vessel was preparing to set sail for open water. If they didn't hurry, they wouldn't be able to access the anchor hold through the opening in the hull.

Jake communicated his concern to Tony and briefed Cat through Rachel. At full speed, they cruised toward the ship, but soon discovered the attempt was futile. By the time they arrived, the hull had sealed tight above the waterline, leaving only one other point of entry.

The moon pool.

"Abort the mission," Cat said. "Get back to the ship and we'll figure something else out."

"Negative."

"What?" Her voice deepened with authority.

"We still have another option."

"We talked about this. It's not safe."

"Sarah could be on that ship, Cat." Jake's tone had a fierceness that wouldn't be denied.

After a long pause, Cat spoke over the comm system. "Proceed... carefully."

There was nothing she could do about it, anyway. Sarah's life was on the line and if Cat wanted to dock his pay or fire him, she could go right ahead.

Jake reiterated Cat's order and warned Tony to enter with caution, knowing what might await them. He knew also that the moon pool would seal shut before the vessel fired its engines. So they had to act with haste to get aboard.

They made their way to the opening. A shaft of light from the interior of the ship cut through the darkened underbelly. It was still difficult to see what awaited them with any accuracy. Both men powered down their DPVs and coasted toward the pool. While Jake held tight to the bag Cat packed for him with one arm, he retrieved another waterproof sack from his waist and prepared to pull out the object inside once they broke the surface. He looked over at Tony, who did the same. Inside the bags were Glock 17s, nine millimeter handguns with an extra magazine for reloading.

Gliding in smoothly, they broke the surface and entered the air pocket the moon pool provided. However shocking, the pistols weren't necessary, at least for now. The room was empty.

He considered the possibility of a trap, but he and Tony had no choice. They had to get Sarah back. They slipped out of their wet suits, revealing the guard uniforms swiped from Zanderthal's compound. Jake's still fit snugly, but the set Sarah used worked out good for Tony. One of Jake's plans was to dress like the enemy. If Zanderthal's guards spotted them, they might not garner much attention.

Jake tried to contact Cat one more time. The airwaves ruffled static in his ear as expected.

They stashed their dive gear in a storage closet on the opposite side of the pool. Jake shouldered Cat's bag and pointed his gun toward a door that appeared to lead deeper into the ship. He glared at Tony. Their ability to read each other's intentions came into play again. It was time to get to work on his backup plan in case Zanderthal stopped them short of rescuing Sarah. It might provide them leverage to pry her from his grip.

With his pistol leading the way, Jake gave Tony a nod as he turned the knob and opened the door.