THE SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE barge’s main deck had now listed to an astonishing thirty degrees. Panic had seized the remaining crewmembers, and those that weren’t holding on to something solid for dear life were trying their best to reach the emergency escape boats.
“Get out of my way!” Sandor howled as he pushed himself past a small group of stampeding hardhats, one hand gripping the railing for balance, the other brandishing his Glock pistol to keep the others at bay. He had locked the weapon up inside his office desk when he encountered Chloe the night before, and had regretted it. Since then he’d always held it close by, and drew it the moment he ran out of the control room.
Someone’s gonna pay for this, he thought as he made his way towards the opposite side of the deck, ignoring nearby cries for help.
The raised helipad was less than twenty meters away, and he could see the AW139 helicopter had already made a partial liftoff from the base of the jutting platform, the pilot frantically trying to keep it stable.
Sandor grimaced as he alternately ran and climbed closer towards the hovering rotorcraft. He had told them to wait for him, but it was clear that the pilot controlling the chopper wanted to fly away as the loose, swaying cables from the construction cranes had made his low-level maneuvering extremely hazardous.
Clambering up along a set of stairs that tilted almost sideways, Sandor used the now partially horizontal railings as steps while getting ever closer towards the helicopter, only to stumble and fall as his left foot treaded on air when it plunged down into the empty space between the guardrails.
The partial fall made him squeal in pain as his crotch slammed against the side of the railing. With the listing now close to sixty degrees, the helicopter rose up even higher, well past the tips of his outstretched fingers as he tried to grab hold of the chopper’s landing skid.
“Come back here!” he roared while raising the Glock with his other hand and firing several shots into the air.
The helicopter pilot heard the sounds of gunfire and immediately panicked, trying to pull up and away, but he had misjudged the helipad’s continuing tilt, and the AW139’s tail rotor collided with the side of the platform, partially shredding its spinning blades.
Sandor screamed as the now uncontrollable helicopter swayed back and forth before slanting sideways, the main rotor cutting into his head and body, slicing his flesh and clothing to ribbons, the splatter of blood partially carried by competing drafts along the night air.
54
CHLOE GRITTED HER TEETH while maneuvering the Sedna right underneath the wriggling leviathan, near the two taut cables still holding it in place. The creature’s desperate thrashing had created powerful, swirling currents all around it, and she struggled mightily with the stabilization controls, trying her best to keep the submersible steady in order to get closer.
Izzy had extended the welding rod to its maximum length, but she could tell there were a few meters of liquid space between the tool’s tip and the organism’s armored flesh. “We’re still out of reach.”
“I know, I know,” Chloe said tersely. One mistake and we’ll be tossed towards the monster’s tail section, and any sort of collision with that thing will totally damage the Sedna.
More metallic screeches came from above, and both women gasped as they saw that one side of the barge had dipped below the waterline. It was clear that the rig was sinking, and they were running out of time.
Chloe blocked out her other senses as she completely focused her mind on the task ahead of her. Sensing a pattern, she timed the next surging underwater current and adjusted the submersible’s heading while adding a little speed to the starboard maneuvering thrusters. Six seconds later, the Sedna shifted sideways, right alongside the creature’s head, less than a meter away.
“Going hot,” Izzy said triumphantly, as she activated the submerged arc welder and the tip of the rod began to fizz and glow. Thrusting the welding tool into the armored flesh, she continued to extend the rod as deep as she could, hoping to somehow damage an important internal organ.
Feeling pain, the creature immediately reacted by attempting to twist the forward part of its body away from the searing agony, but the two remaining harpoon cables held on, further restraining its movements.
Izzy had also extended a mechanical arm that grasped and held onto one of the creature’s spines, keeping the Sedna firmly in place as the colossal beast attempted to shake the submersible away from it.
“Gotcha, you overgrown shrimp,” Chloe said.
Izzy continued to slice through the near endless pulsating flesh in front of her, using the arc welder like a burning scalpel. “Looks like it’s seafood for breakfast.”
Chloe was about to say something else when she heard a loud crash behind her, and the entire cockpit suddenly tilted sideways.
Both women turned their heads and cried out in shock as they saw that another submersible had rammed them from behind, using a competing mechanical arm to hold on to them.
“TAKE THAT, YOU WHORES,” Liger said as he reached over to his left side, activating the full grip of the Deep Dog’s second mechanical arm. The Sedna tried a sideways maneuver, but Liger’s vessel continued to remain attached to her, the grasping claw firmly clamped in place, like a biting pit bull that wouldn’t let go.
Liger continued to mutter to himself as his left hand slid across the console in front of the empty left chair. “Where are the bloody controls for that power drill?”
After a few frantic seconds of searching, he finally found the button and pressed it, extending a rod along the side of the Deep Dog’s hull. The tool was more akin to a screwdriver than a drill, but he figured it would be enough.
With the rapidly spinning tool now jutting out in front of the submersible, Liger switched his attention back to the Deep Dog’s controls, maneuvering his vessel until the whirling screwdriver was pressing against the top of the Sedna’s transparent canopy.
“Say goodbye, skanks,” he growled.
CHLOE LOOKED UP IN despair as the looming enemy submersible’s drilling tool pressed its tip against the Sedna’s transparent canopy. There was a slight cracking noise as the acrylic material absorbed the initial blows, but she knew it could shatter at any moment.
Izzy had let go of her controls, and the arc welder had automatically deactivated. She could see their opponent from across the two see-through cockpits, and she instantly recognized him. “It’s Clive Liger!”
Chloe’s mind clicked into action. She had already tried to pull away, but the enemy submersible had its manipulator claw firmly attached to the Sedna’s rear module. Pushing the throttle to maximum speed, she angled the control stick downwards, and the submersible immediately began to descend.
Izzy deactivated the Sedna’s mechanical arm, as the submersible dragged the attached Deep Dog right underneath the creature’s whipping tail section. The swirling currents began to toss both vessels back and forth, and the Deep Dog’s drill arm was now unable to press down onto the Sedna’s canopy.
The enemy submersible pilot quickly realized that he was now in direct range against the creature’s flailing tail, and quickly began to use his own thrusters to reposition the Deep Dog away from the immediate danger.