David Golemon - Legend

Jackson had turned back from the window to his sonar when the major had called for a situation report on the repairs for the radio. He was no longer looking outside, to see the approach of Rosolo or that of the creature. He even failed to notice that he had unintentionally changed the setting of the sonar alarm, the very specialized piece of naval equipment that had been previously activated to warn of the proximity of an underwater threat.

"This is Teacher Actual one, on the line for Group Director Compton," Stiles said into the large handheld phone, then he set the instrument down and switched the communications to the speaker, to enable the voyagers to hold a conference call.

"Jack, where in the hell have you been?" Niles asked.

"Well, we had a bit of wildlife trouble here; knocked out our transmitter."

"Boris and Natasha had your visual for most of the day, and then we had a circuit failure on her and we lost picture. But before the old girl went down we saw who we thought was Stiles on the main mast working on your dish. Any luck finding those kids, Jack?"

"Negative, but we have discovered something we need you to check on."

"What's that?"

With just those two words Jack heard how some of the hope had drained from Niles's voice. Finding no survivors was not what the director had wanted to hear.

"Stand by to receive a fax of a still photo. I think you'll find it interesting."

Stiles placed an eight-by-ten of the graffito painted on the belly of the eighty-foot statue of Supay into the scanner and then hit send.

Several moments later Niles came back on, furious.

"All right, I want you and Carl to disembark Teacher and go it alone in the search. Get everyone else out of there, Jack. We've been had by someone. Either the president is lying outright to me or someone is lying to him, but I'm not taking any chances. Someone knew what was there and didn't warn us — or Helen. Get your people out now!"

"I haven't had a chance to tell you about the two bodies we discovered on the way in," he said.

"What bodies?"

Jack took the next few minutes and explained about Kennedy and the tactical release key. Needless to say, Niles Compton was about to explode, without any nuclear key being inserted.

The creature was watching the shipboard activity through the port window. Sarah entered the lounge area after Jack had gone out to contact Niles. The animal became still as it recognized her face from the diving bell. It then saw Sarah turn and leave, disappearing through the hatch. The creature became agitated once again as it shook its massive head. Then it dove and streaked to the other side of the boat by swiftly passing beneath it. The animal was by no means enraptured by Sarah; on the contrary, it was interested in her because it couldn't figure out how she had transferred from the diving bell into Teacher .

Sudden movement caught the beast's eye at the stern section of the hull. A black form was barely visible there. The beast could see it was alive — an intruder. It kicked out with its legs, and the mighty fins of its feet stirred an invisible vortex through the water as it was propelled at a fantastic speed through the lagoon.

The man felt movement as it passed by and turned, but the creature was already around him and turning back. The animal stilled its actions for a moment. It watched as the intruder rose two feet in the water until he could see inside one of the submerged windows. That was when the amphibian charged through the water straight at Rosolo, who was blessed with a thief's instincts to know when something wasn't right. He turned just before the beast struck. His eyes wide, he tried desperately to swim away.

"The SEAL, Kennedy, had a tactical nuclear arming key on his body, Niles, and he was contaminated with radioactivity, according to the autopsy. So whoever ordered them in here with a tactical weapon more than likely gave them orders to blow up the mine. I need you to find out why they would risk these kids like that."

"I've been on the Kennedy investigation for hours, and so far Pete and I are drawing a blank."

"It has something to do with whatever else is in that mine. I can't believe they would risk a nuclear incident just to protect gold. Find out whose game we're involved in and get it stopped, sir, or we may be up a creek here."

"I'll do my best, but for right now, get our people out of there, Jack; do you understand, get them out. But I have to ask that you and Carl stay to get Helen's team out if at all possible."

Sarah, who had listened in on this part of the conversation, patted Jack on the back and left the communications center to go aft into the lounge once again.

Jackson suddenly noticed the sonar was on the wrong setting. "Major, we have contact, bearing two nine-seven and coming on fast, thirty-two knots and closing!" he said as he reached out and turned the audio alarm back on.

"Niles, we may have a situation here; I'll try and get back to you. It seems our animal friend may be paying us another visit."

"Animal? You mean the goddamned stories are real? That breaks it, Jack, get the hell—"

Niles was cut off as Teacher was jolted by a massive explosion amidships. The detonation sent everyone sprawling to the floor. Teacher immediately started listing to port, taking on two tons of water a minute as her composite hull split and buckled in the very section where everyone else had gathered. The lounge.

The creature took Rosolo by the neck and rammed him straight into the water jet of engine number two, momentarily knocking him senseless. He tried to gather his panicked thoughts when he felt the beast's webbed fingers close once again over his head. Just as his attacker drew back to slam Rosolo's head into the stanchion, the underwater world was rocked by a violence the animal had never encountered before. It released the Colombian and sped away, grasping its head against the pressure wave that slammed into it. Rosolo, lucky beyond measure, was tossed about like a twig in the roiling currents that gripped the waters surrounding Teacher . His very own bombs had saved his life. He shook his head and made for the shore and the mine beyond.

Mendenhall and Corporal Shaw had been working on the damaged engine when the explosion knocked them from their feet. A large piece of composite hull exploded into the engine room and caught Shaw in the chest. Acting like a buzz saw, it sank through his body to his backbone. Mendenhall raised his head out of the water that was quickly filling the bilges and rising above the grated floor. He looked around for Shaw and saw he was dead. The sergeant had been protected from flying debris by the damaged engine they had been working on. However, although he shook his head to clear it, he knew he was partially deaf, as he had heard nothing after the loud roar of the explosion. He looked for the source of the blast and saw a six-foot-diameter hole blown in the aft side, half above and half below the waterline.

"Help me before we sink!" he shouted.

At that moment Sanchez entered quickly through the hatch and then sealed it closed. Looking around, he saw Shaw's body floating and Mendenhall struggling with the diving bell, which had come loose from its cradle.

"Help me!" Mendenhall repeated.

Sanchez moved quickly through the rising water and helped the sergeant, as he realized in an instant what it was he was trying to do.

The bell was swinging back and forth in front of the damaged hull. Sanchez and Mendenhall needed literally to cram the round bell into the smaller hole in the boat's side to stop the flooding. Sanchez knew immediately that the sergeant wasn't going to have enough play on the umbilicus to reach the damaged area, and splashed though the water to the main control.