Дэвид Балдаччи - No Man's Land

Claire Jericho turned and left.

KNOX EXCLAIMED, “I have never met a bigger bitch in my life. The crap that came out of her mouth? And the arrogance? I wanted to kick the shit out of her. And she’s working for our side?”

They were sitting in his car in the parking lot of Building Q, the lights of the facility the only thing breaking the darkness.

“I just wanted to shoot her,” said Puller quietly.

He stared up at the façade of the old building and then gazed at the high fence and armed gate.

“You noticed they didn’t let us see anything that was going on in there?”

“I guess they’d say we weren’t cleared for it.”

“I would bet that few people are.”

“So the real purpose of her wanting to see you was to tell you to back the hell off or it will not turn out so well for us,” said Knox.

“I don’t think she left any possibility of misinterpretation.”

“And are you going to back off?”

“What do you think?”

She smiled. “So what’s our next step?”

“Finding Paul.”

He put the car in gear and drove out of the lot. They headed out of Fort Monroe.

There were no other cars about at this time of night. Across the water were Fort Wool and Naval Station Norfolk.

They had just passed through the entrance to Fort Monroe along the waterfront when the car jerked, slowed, and then suddenly accelerated to nearly eighty miles an hour. Knox was thrown back against her seat by the force.

“Puller, what the hell are you doing?”

“It’s not me,” he snapped. “It’s the car.”

He slammed on the brake and then tried to shift into park. Neither maneuver worked. He dug his foot under the accelerator pedal to try to pry it up but it wouldn’t budge.

The speedometer clicked to a hundred and they were still accelerating.

“Omigod!” screamed Knox as the car veered sharply to the left and cut across the oncoming lane, very nearly flipping in the process before the rubber regained firm traction.

What was about to happen would make them both wish the car had flipped.

The vehicle hit a bump, went airborne, cleared the low wall, sailed into open space, and then gravity forced the nose of the car down and they slammed into the dark waters of the channel.

The air bags deployed and Puller was stunned by both the impact of the water and the gas-filled bag slamming into him. The car started to quickly sink into the brackish water of the channel.

Puller shook his head clear and looked over at Knox. Her eyes were closed and there was blood on the side of her head. Despite the front and side air bags she must have hit something.

Puller had been trained to never panic under any circumstances. And thus the water rising and the car sinking did not cause him to lose his nerve.

He unsnapped his seat belt and reached over to do the same to Knox’s.

It was jammed. He pulled out his Ka-Bar knife from its leather holder on his belt, put the blade under the harness strap, and cut away.

By now the car was under the surface and water was pouring in from crevices all over the vehicle. Puller was now operating in near-total darkness. It was like he was flying through fog without instruments.

He reached up, felt around, and hit the button for the inside light and it miraculously came on. He kept cutting away, his mind jumping ahead to what he would have to do next.

The water was not deep here, he knew, about thirty feet. But it was deep enough to kill them if they couldn’t get out.

The harness finally gave and he pulled the unconscious Knox free. The water was now up to their waists.

Keeping the slumping Knox’s head above the water, he turned and kicked out against the door. But having to push through the water was weakening the strength of his kicks, and the water was now up to the bottom of the window.

He held Knox in one arm, bracing her head against the ceiling of the car as he gripped the door handle with his free hand. He opened it and pushed his shoulder against the door. He could feel it give just a bit. If he could put his full bulk against it, he was sure he could get it open.

The only snag was that to do that he would have to let go of Knox.

And she would fall into the water, which was up to his chest now. Despite his training, he felt panic rising.

He maneuvered Knox on top of him, her face pointed to the ceiling, and then he slid over to the door and pushed against it. He could feel it give some more, but the water pressure was now too great.

Shit.

A few moments later the water was up to his neck and rising every second. He felt the car level out as it hit bottom.

They were now thirty feet down. Swimming to the surface was not impossible, but they had to get out of the damn car first.

“Knox! Knox! Wake up!” He reached up, shook her violently, then slapped her face. “ Knox! ”

He heard her sputter and then choke as water entered her mouth.

“What…what?” she began groggily.

Puller had to arch back to keep the water out of his mouth.

He pulled his gun but knew it was no good. He should have done that sooner. A mistake. Probably now a fatal one.

Unlike in the movies, guns immersed in water did not fire. But with nothing to lose, he pointed it at the car window and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

The water was now up to his eyes. Even arching back he couldn’t keep his mouth out of it. He started to sputter and choke on the foul stuff.

He rammed his big feet against the glass, but he couldn’t get any momentum pushing through the water.

Holding Knox up, he put his back against the steering wheel, torqued his body, put his feet against the door and pushed, slowly, methodically. He was using every ounce of his considerable strength. He could feel the door give, but only a bit.

So this is how it’s going to end?

He felt Knox move above him and then she fell into the water next to him.

He frantically reached for her, but she came up beside him and, mimicking his movements, put her feet against the door and they pushed together, their backs arched to keep their mouths out of the water.

They pushed as hard as they could, synchronizing their movements. The door began to open a bit more.

But it wasn’t nearly enough, and if they moved to try to get out, the water pressure would slam the door closed. For good.

The interior lights of the car were still feebly on. They could dimly see each other. Their dual fates were imprinted on their resigned features.

As they both passed under the water, she reached out and touched his cheek.

The panic in her eyes, he was sure, was matched in his.

But he was feeling an even more powerful emotion.

Failure.

He had failed.

And he had died.

And most damning of all?

He had allowed Veronica Knox to die alongside him.

You didn’t do that to a comrade. You saved them, even if you died yourself. That was just the Army way. That was the point of being a soldier.

Sacrifice.

They were past saving at this point, he knew. Even if someone had seen them go into the water, which he didn’t think they had.

But Puller was not going to give up.

He turned back to the door and pushed with all his might. This took a lot of air, but it wasn’t like he was going to need it much longer anyway.

He looked at Knox, clenched his teeth to keep out the water, and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”

She nodded in understanding.

They were going to die. But at least they would die together.

Still pushing against the door with his shoulder, he reached out with his hand and she took it in hers.

He felt her hand tremble and he clinched it tight.