John Avery - Black Cobra

Katya laughed nervously then waved a quick goodbye and ducked through the hatch in search of Aaron.

Jason was shocked to hear that Aaron was Ekatarina’s date. The very idea of a punk like him being with a woman of her caliber, a woman he would clearly never have, turned him to stone. He made a mental note to rectify the situation as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Finally, Katya was in Compartment Two. She made her way down the corridor to the Captain’s Cabin and was relieved to see that the door was open. She peeked inside and saw Aaron seated on the bunk reading something tacked to the wall. At his feet were a few playing cards, scattered randomly about.

She tapped on the doorframe.

“Oh — hi, Katya,” Aaron said. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back. Did you get everything locked up?”

“I need to talk to you,” Katya whispered quickly.

Aaron stood up from the bunk. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m not sure,” Katya said, gesturing for him to keep his voice down. She glanced down the corridor toward the Control Room where she’d left Jason and Brandy.

“Come in and shut the door,” Aaron said.

“Somewhere more private,” Katya said.

Aaron could tell by the look in Katya’s eyes that she had something very serious to tell him. He thought of the Forward Torpedo Room next door. It was tucked deep into the bow of the boat, and he doubted there was anywhere more private.

“Follow me,” he said.

He took her hand and led her through the watertight hatch leading next door to Compartment One. He swung the hatch cover shut and cranked the locking handle tight.

Katya’s brain hurt. She pressed her fingers to her temples and took a moment to collect herself. “I got lost, and I ended up in the wrong end of this stupid submarine. So I was heading back and I overheard two men talking in the Midshipman’s Cabin, with door closed… a-and I swear on my mother’s grave, Aaron, they were talking about a plot to kill the President of the United States.”

“ What? ”

She knew how ridiculous it sounded, but she had to get it out. “The President is here in San Diego, and he’s going on a VIP cruise on a nuclear submarine… and these men are planning to torpedo it.”

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve —”

“Why would I feed you a bunch of lies , Aaron? I heard them! This is for real! ” Tears welled in her eyes.

An icy chill ran down Aaron’s spine as suddenly he recalled that crazy night when he, Jason, and Brandy got drunk together in that nightclub down in Cabo San Lucas. He had assumed that all of the memories of that night had been lost to a severe tequila hangover. But he’d been wrong.

“Did they say when they’re planning to do this?” he said firmly.

“I-I don’t know,” Katya said. “I left before they —.”

“Did you see their faces?”

“No. The door was closed. But I’m positive one of the men was Jason Beckham.”

Aaron ran his hand through his hair. How could this be? Katya’s wild story was the same story Jason himself had told him and Brandy that night in the Cabo Wabo Cantina!

“We have to tell someone,” he said. “We have to let someone know, and quickly .”

He checked his cell phone, but there was no service. “Wait here,” he said. “I need to see if we can get off this boat without attracting attention.”

Katya looked at him doubtfully. “What if someone decides to load a torpedo or something?”

“You’re right,” he said.

He took Katya’s hand and led her out of the Forward Torpedo Room and back into the Captain’s Cabin.

Katya sat on the small bunk, looking up at Aaron with fear in her eyes.

“Keep the door locked until I return,” Aaron said. “I won’t be long.”

“Hurry, okay?”

“Like the wind,” he said then stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Jason had sent Brandy to the galley for fresh cocktails and had followed Katya into Compartment Two.

He hid in the Ward Room and waited until she and Aaron came out of the Forward Torpedo Room, and then, as soon as Aaron left, he stepped out and walked slowly down the narrow corridor toward the Captain’s Cabin.

Katya waited alone on the bunk in the Captain’s Cabin, nervously pushing one of the playing cards around with her toe. She heard a click, and saw the door handle slowly turn, but instinctively she knew it wasn’t Aaron, and her heart leaped up into her throat.

She had forgotten to lock it!

She jumped up and tried to shut the door, but the man jammed it with his foot, peering in at her with one eye through the narrow opening.

It was Jason .

“Hello, Katya,” he said calmly. “May I come in?”

“W-what are you doing here?” Katya said. “The party’s somewhere else.”

“I’m here to remind you that Aaron is just a boy,” he said, “and that what you really need is a man.”

Katya found that unbearably insulting on many levels. Aaron Quinn was definitely not a boy. But she knew it would be best to be friendly and try to calmly discourage Jason. Keep it cool, Katya. For the love of God, keep it cool.

“You’re right,” she said, struggling to hide the tremble in her voice. “I like real men way more than boys. But we can’t be fooling around here on this silly submarine, can we? Someone might see us. Why don’t we meet somewhere more private?” It sounded fake and patronizing and Katya knew she hadn’t done herself any favors.

Jason agreed.

He forced his way in and grabbed her left arm, spinning her around with her back to him, holding her close to his chest. She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip, cupping his free hand firmly over her right breast.

“Why are you fighting me?” he said, teeth clenched. “You know you want it.”

Jason had a death grip on her arm. “Please,” she said. “You’re hurting me… Please don’t do this.”

Jason’s hand moved from her breast and slid down between her legs. The hot breath on her neck that would normally have turned her on only made her nauseous. Oh, my God, she thought. This can’t be happening. Do something Katya. Don’t give in to him. THINK girl. THINK!

She steeled herself and decided to give the asshole one last thing to consider. “I’ll scream, Jason,” she said. “This cabin door is thin, and I swear to God if you do this I’ll scream so fucking loud your eardrums will bleed and this entire submarine will split in two and sink to the bottom of San Diego fucking Bay.”

Jason smiled and flipped open the blade of a long, very sharp knife, holding it flat against her cheekbone. “You do and I’ll kill you,” he said calmly. “Right here — right now. Is that really what you want?”

If that’s what it will take to make you stop, Katya thought, then yes! That’s exactly what I want!

Brandy Fine had entered Compartment Two looking for Jason. She had already downed the last two cocktails she had made and had a fresh one in each hand. She was feeling the alcohol and was anxious to get the party started.

She walked down the narrow corridor checking each room, and when she neared the Captain’s Cabin she heard a scream.

She threw the drinks to one side and tried the door, and to her surprise it opened, and what she saw inside tore through her heart like flying shrapnel: Jason Beckham was sprawled across a struggling, terrified girl named Ekatarina.