Phantom Prospect (20 page)

Tom’s body spasmed in the chair as the round punched through his back and entered his heart, spraying blood out of the front of his chest and onto the instrument panel in front of him. Tom fell sideways out of his chair and abruptly jerked the steering wheel to the right and down.

The sub responded instantly and both Annja and Henderson pitched headlong toward the deck. Tom’s body fell and his blood made the deck suddenly very slippery.

Henderson righted himself and yanked the steering column back and the sub leveled again.

Annja got up off the floor and saw that Henderson still aimed his pistol at her while he kept the other hand on the steering column. “Easy, Annja. Easy does it, girl.”

“I don’t like being called ‘girl,’” Annja said.

He nodded. “I don’t really care at this moment. I’m far more concerned that the crucifix doesn’t seem to have worked.”

“Well, you can’t put your faith in these little sideshow artifacts, can you? Better to trust in yourself, I’d think.” Annja cast a sideways glance at Tom’s corpse and noted that he still wore the crucifix around his neck.

“I wonder if there’s some sort of trick to it.” Henderson frowned. “Take it from around Tom’s neck.”

Annja shook her head. “I prefer not to desecrate the dead. It’s kind of sacrilegious and all.”

“I could just shoot you and be done with it. I can steer this sub myself and do quite a good job of it.”

Annja leaned down and scooped the crucifix from around Tom’s neck. She didn’t feel anything special when she slid it over her head and around her neck, but then again, what else was new?

“There. Happy now?”

Henderson frowned. “Feel anything…remarkable?”

“Not a damned thing.”

Henderson leveled his pistol at her. “Perhaps I should shoot you and see if I get the same result as poor Tom there.”

“I see you’re all broken up about killing him. You must have a real problem with employee retention.”

“Tom served his purpose and that purpose is now at an end. I’m a pragmatic man, Annja. I don’t drag out goodbyes, but I do appreciate his service.”

“I’ll bet.”

Henderson took a moment to set the autopilot on the submarine and then backed away from the instrument panel, giving himself a better drop on Annja. “So, what am I to do here? I was told that crucifix would grant the wearer immortality and now it appears I’ve been hoodwinked.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Annja said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Annja pointed at the bomb. “Your precious nuke there. Did you wonder why it didn’t explode?”

“I assumed you’d somehow disarmed it, although I must confess I thought such a thing was well beyond your skill level.”

“Thanks for the confidence.” Annja shook her head. “I did disarm it. But that’s not the whole story.”

“What is?”

“That’s not a nuclear device.”

Henderson laughed. “You’re lying. Of course it is.”

“Nope. I think the scientist you murdered after he made this for you actually got the last laugh. He made you a dud. There’s no nuclear material in there, at least none primed to explode. He might have sprinkled some dust around it so you got a nice read from your Geiger counters, but that’s no nuclear bomb.”

Henderson looked at the bomb and then back at Annja. “Open it up.”

“What?”

“Do it.”

“Sure.” Annja walked to the bomb and unclasped the four locks on the lid. When she lifted it up, she saw something she didn’t expect. There was a small packet at the bottom of the metal cylinder and a new timer. The timer was counting down and there were ten minutes left on it.

Annja looked up. “I’ve got a confession to make. I was lying to you.”

Henderson gestured with his pistol. “I’m sure you were. Now step away so I can look at it.”

Annja held up her hands. “Really, I was trying to get you to look inside there so I could jump you.”

Henderson stopped and brought his pistol back up on Annja. “I warned you not to do that.”

Annja nodded. “Can’t blame a girl for trying to escape.”

“Indeed,” Henderson said. He brought the pistol up to Annja’s chest. “And now you must pay the price.”

The sub suddenly lurched as Tom struggled to get to his feet and reached for the steering wheel. Annja almost fell over. She grabbed at the nearest panel for support. How the hell was Tom on his feet? He was supposed to be dead.

Henderson fell back as the sub lolled to the right again. “Tom, for God’s sake, boy, get the sub level.”

Tom nodded dumbly, his chest still spouting blood as he jerked the steering column in the other direction. Henderson started to fall backward but managed to keep himself upright.

The bomb toppled over and fell, rolling part of the distance across the bridge before coming to a stop by the rail support.

Tom moved toward Henderson.

“Get away from me!” Henderson shouted. “I saw you die just a few moments ago.”

Tom mumbled something and reached out for Henderson. Henderson’s pistol exploded three times and Annja saw the impact of his bullets as they entered Tom’s body and threw the young man back across the bridge.

This time he slumped to the floor and lay still.

Henderson rushed over and placed the barrel of his pistol at the base of Tom’s neck and fired a final shot that penetrated Tom’s brain.

“There. Now he’s really dead.”

Annja got to her feet slowly. Henderson was breathing hard and sweat poured down his face. He seemed short of breath and clutched the pistol to his chest.

“Maybe that crucifix you’re wearing does indeed work,” Henderson said. “Take it off.”

“Make up your mind,” Annja said.

“Take it off and give it to me,” Henderson said. “I can just as easily remove it from your corpse if you’d prefer.”

Annja wasn’t sure what had happened to Tom but she lifted the crucifix over her head and handed it to Henderson. The old man looped it over his head and then tried to stand upright. “There. Now that’s settled.”

Annja looked at Tom’s corpse. Had the crucifix really caused him to rise from the dead and try to attack Henderson? It wasn’t possible. “It didn’t look like Tom appreciated being used as your guinea pig, huh?”

“I suppose we’ll never know,” Henderson said.

“Seemed pretty evident to me.”

“That’s because you don’t like me,” Henderson said. “Now do me a favor and get the bomb upright again. No sense having an explosive rolling about the bridge. Rather dangerous, if I do say so myself.”

Annja shrugged. “I don’t see why you’d be worried, seeing as how you’re supposedly immortal now.”

“You don’t believe it?”

“Maybe your bullet didn’t kill Tom. Maybe he found a little life in him still and his only thought was to get to you, the man who tried to kill him. Guess I wouldn’t blame the guy for trying.”

“I don’t know anyone who could withstand a point-blank shot through their heart, do you?” Henderson said.

“Well, not up until a few moments ago.”

“Just do as I asked and get the bomb righted, would you?”

Annja set the bomb upright and then reached for the lid. As she did, she caught a glimpse of the timer, which now read two minutes. Annja had just two minutes to get out of the submarine or she was going to die in it with Henderson.

Worse, she had even less time since the submarine was headed out through the tunnel toward open water. If Annja didn’t remain inside, she’d die from the pressure once they were out.

It was time to end this once and for all.

“You wanted to look at the bomb, remember?”

Henderson nodded. “I do indeed. Stand back and drop the lid, if you please.”

Annja stepped away, still holding the lid. Henderson came forward, the crucifix dangling in front of him as he peered inside. He looked back up at Annja. “Why is the timer counting down?”

Annja shrugged. “Looks like someone managed to put a little treat in there for you.”

She jerked the lid up and smacked him in the face with it.

The pistol went off and bounced a single round around the bridge. Annja heard the splang of the ricochet and winced as the bullet grazed her arm. She fought back the pain, though, and kicked Henderson in his chest.

Henderson flew into the nearby panel and then crumpled to the floor.

Annja looked at the display on the instrument panel near the steering column and saw that the sub was approaching the entrance to the cavern tunnel.

She dashed for the conning tower and climbed up the ladder. The upper hatch handle was right in front of her and she tried to jerk the wheel around to unlock it. It was stuck.

Annja grunted and tried to use her other arm, but the bullet wound must have been deeper than she thought because the wave of pain that washed over her was intense and she cried out in frustration.

“Dammit!”

She heard movement down below on the bridge. Henderson was coming after her.

She dropped back down to the bridge and saw Henderson approaching. Annja paused for a moment and summoned her sword.

Henderson lifted the pistol and fired as Annja dodged to the left.

Henderson tracked her and fired again.

Another bullet splanged nearby and Annja slashed at Henderson, who seemed to have remarkably fast reflexes for an old man.

Annja cut at him again and again, finding it hard to slash in the close confines of the submarine’s bridge.

She figured she had maybe thirty seconds left before she passed the point of no return.

“I should have killed you earlier,” Henderson said.

“Maybe you should have,” Annja said. “But you missed your opportunity. Now it’s my turn.”

She ducked under the railing and thrust up, impaling Henderson as he came forward to shoot at her again. Annja’s sword blade slid into his hollow chest with little difficulty.

Henderson gasped and fell forward onto the blade. As he did, his head came forward and Annja saw the crucifix dangling there.

“Give me that,” she said, and scooped the necklace from around his collar. She jerked the sword free of his body and watched as he slumped to the floor. Then she slid the crucifix over her own neck and patted it once.

Annja turned back to the conning tower and grabbed at the ladder. Her arm still hurt like hell but the surge of adrenaline had dulled the pain. The energy coursing through her veins gave her the strength she needed.

She dashed up the ladder and jerked the hatch open. It flew off and Annja could see the tunnel entrance ahead of her. A wall of water awaited on the other side. Henderson must have developed some sort of almost force-field technology in order to preserve the cavern as he had.

But there was no time to delay. Annja swung out of the conning tower and onto the deck of the sub. With a final glance at the tunnel opening, she leaped off the sub and into the tunnel water.

Then she swam for all she was worth.

The submarine vanished through the wall of water and then exploded in a massive fireball just beyond. Annja saw the wall of water buckle and then suck outward with the force of the tremendous explosion. She heard a roar in her ears and felt a sudden immense pull.

The current sucked at her hard. Annja felt herself being tugged along toward the entrance of the cavern tunnel.

The force was too great.

And Annja felt herself losing the battle.

She couldn’t give up. Not yet. Not after coming as far as she had. Annja took a deep breath and then tucked her head under the waves and started swimming as hard as she could. She felt that for every kick she took, she was being dragged back twice the distance.

But she refused to give in to the pull of the water. The explosion on the other side must have created some sort of massive suction force. It was sucking all the water out of the cavern toward the open ocean.

Annja swam harder, willing herself to keep battling the current until she could get back into the cavern itself where her friends waited for her.

Cole.

His wound needed medical attention. She wasn’t sure if he would even survive.

The thought came to her almost at once. The crucifix. If there was ever a time to test the supposed legend of what it could do, that time was now.

Annja shifted direction and then started kicking harder than she had so far. She sensed a difference and she started making progress.

She swam back toward the cavern. The going still felt brutal and all of Annja’s muscles burned. Her lungs heaved and the waves roared around her head as if she was in the midst of a massive storm surge. With every breath she took, she gulped down seawater. Her eyes stung and her leg muscles cramped.

But she pressed on.

Slowly, she felt as if part of the current was yielding to her indomitable spirit and the sheer willpower she demonstrated. Her legs kept kicking and her arms kept crawling forward, stroke after stroke.

Annja moved closer to the cavern tunnel wall and was using the walls of the tunnel itself to help her move back toward the cavern. The danger was that she might get crushed against the sides if a rogue wave picked her up and smashed her into it.

But she had to keep going.

Annja thrashed mightily against the swells and, ahead of her, she could see the light from the main cavern.

Cole.

She had to reach him. Had to get to him and place the crucifix around his neck so that it might save his life.

It felt as if she had already been gone for hours rather than minutes.

Too long.

The struggle to reach the cavern was exhausting her. She took another breath, dove deep underwater and then tried to pull herself along using handholds on the tunnel wall.

She gained a few yards and then surfaced again, sucking in oxygen.

How much longer can I do this? she wondered. I’m not getting anywhere fast enough.

She felt a sudden brush of movement past her leg.

Her heart pounded.

What the hell was that? Was there an animal in the water with her? Some kind of fish? She groaned. For the love of god, she thought, don’t let it be a shark.

She felt something grab her around the ankles.

Annja ducked her head underwater again. A black mass with two eyes stared back up at her and then, abruptly, she was buoyed and almost lifted out of the water.

A spout of water hit her in the face. “Hiya, Annja.”

Dave’s body surfaced next to hers clad in a black wet suit. His beaming face smiled at Annja. “You look like you could use a little help getting back to the cavern.”

“Dave! What the hell are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if my little going-away present would explode, so I took the liberty of tagging along with the sub and attaching one of my world-famous homemade limpet mines to its hull.” He shrugged and, over the roar of water, Annja heard him say, “Glad you managed to get out of there in time.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Annja said. “But we have to get back to Cole, he’s hurt really badly.”

“How badly?”

“I think his femoral got nicked by a bullet.”

“Shit.” Dave took a breath. “Can you still swim for it? The current sucks pretty bad.”

“I’m exhausted,” Annja said. “But I’ll keep going.”

Dave grinned. “You make a swim like this with a spirit like that and you’ll be as good as any SEAL I ever served with.” Dave pointed to the wall. “Now, keep your head down and take a deep breath. I think we can make it back there if we follow a path through the water. I’ll lead and you follow. Got it?”

Annja nodded. “I got it.”

Dave ducked under the water and Annja followed. She watched as Dave’s powerful legs scissored back and forth like a motor and Annja found herself inspired by the clean mechanical action of his body as he maneuvered his way toward the main cavern.

Annja fought for every inch she could and, gradually, they started making progress. Every time Annja surfaced for air, she could see they were farther along the tunnel.

But the current still refused to yield to their desire to get back. And Annja wondered just what was building within the cavern itself. If all the water was being sucked toward the entrance to the open ocean, then would that pressure also build up in the cavern itself?

And, if so, what would be the final result?

Dave pulled her along now, sensing that Annja was exhausted. Annja kicked as well as she could, but when they finally made it back to the water near the dock in the cavern, Annja was running an energy deficit and could barely crawl her way to the dock.

For his part, Dave seemed unstoppable. Annja knew that SEALs were conditioned like superhuman warriors and would never give up. Usually, Annja would be the same. But having just fought so hard for her life, her energy reserves were already tapped out.

The swim had basically finished her.

Dave appeared alongside of her. “Okay, Annja. I’ve got you. Just relax now and don’t fight me.”

Annja did as she was told as her heart hammered away inside her chest. She let Dave turn her onto her back and felt one of his arms come up under her armpits and position itself across her upper torso.

Then she felt him sidestroke them back toward the dock. Annja closed her eyes for a split second and then, from far off, it seemed as if Dave was calling to people on the dock for help.

Annja felt arms lifting her out of the water and laying her on the dock. She wanted to do nothing but curl up and sleep forever.

But then she remembered Cole.

“Wait—Cole, how is he?”

She saw him immediately. His face was ashen gray and there seemed to be an immense amount of blood all over the dock. Jax knelt nearby and she looked at Annja.

Annja saw the briefest shake of her head and felt a renewed surge of energy, her last, flowing through her limbs as she struggled to reach Cole. “No. Wait.”

Dave saw her trying to get to Cole and helped her farther along. “I’ll get you there, Annja. Just hang on.”

Annja scrambled to move next to Cole. She could see Jax bending over to examine the wound. She looked up at Annja.

“I’ve done the best I can. I got the artery closed up, but he lost a fearsome amount of blood while I was working on him. I’m sorry.”

Annja looked into Cole’s eyes. He smiled up at her weakly. “Hey, you. Glad to see you made it back in time for me…to say goodbye.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Annja said. “You’ll be fine.”

He smiled. “If this is what fine feels like, then I’m pretty sure death is a lot worse.”

“Don’t talk like that, okay?”

Cole held up his hand. “Annja, it’s okay. I know you tried. None of us could have seen what was coming.” He frowned. “Where’s Tom?”

Annja thought about telling him that Tom hadn’t been who they thought he was, but decided against it. Knowing Cole, he might take the blame and that wasn’t fair.

“I’m sorry, Cole. He didn’t make it.”

He nodded. “I wondered if he would. But thanks for trying to save him.”

“I did everything I could,” Annja said. “But it wasn’t enough.”

“Sometimes life is like that.”

Annja slid the crucifix from around her neck and then eased it over Cole’s head. “Here’s a little souvenir from the
Fantome
. I thought you might like to have it for when we see Hunter again.”

Cole nodded weakly. Annja could see the light going out in his eyes. “That will be nice. I’ll miss my brother.”

“You’re going to see him again really, really soon. Just hang in there.”

Cole grabbed Annja’s hand. “Listen to me. I never wanted to put you in any danger. I hope you understand that.”

Annja smiled at him through her tears. “Of course I do. I don’t blame you for anything, Cole.”

“Thanks.”

“Now, just hang on. We’re going to move you onto the shark and get you out of here. All right?”

Cole didn’t respond.

“Cole?”

Dave moved in next to her and checked for a pulse in Cole’s neck. Annja watched him prod Cole with his still-wet fingers. But then he dropped his hand away.

“I’m sorry, Annja. He’s gone.”

Annja looked at the crucifix hanging around Cole’s neck. It seemed to sparkle brightly with the seawater still glistening on it. Or maybe it was the tears streaming down Annja’s face that made it shine so brightly.

She looked up at Jax. “Thanks for trying.”

Jax said nothing but looked away. Her face seemed wet, as well.

Dave got to his feet. “We need to get him the hell out of here. No one deserves to die in a place like this.”

“I’ll help,” Jax said. She and Dave lifted Cole off the dock and carried him down toward the mechanical shark. They eased Cole’s body through the hatch and disappeared from view.

Annja sat for a moment, willing the universe to give Cole back his life. He didn’t deserve to die, she thought. He didn’t deserve any of this.

Holly came up behind her. “Annja, it’s time to go.”

“All right.”

Annja let herself be helped to her feet. The strain and struggle of everything she’d been through finally caught up with her and her legs buckled as she took a step.

Holly caught her. “Okay, okay, I got you. Just let me get you inside the shark. You can rest there.”

“I’m fine,” Annja said.

A sudden roar filled the air and Annja looked up.

The roof of the cavern started to fall apart. Massive boulders came down in chunks.

“We’ve got to get out of here now!”