Andy McDermott - The Tomb Of Hercules

“Wait, you mean it’ll sink?”

“She’s not going back home, whatever happens,” Trulli said, sounding disconsolate. “Ah well. She gave us a good run, at least.”

Nina gave him a worried look. “But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me. Long as you’re clear, I’ll be able to get out.”

“With a broken rib?”

“Life’d be boring without a bit of challenge, wouldn’t it?” He squeezed her arm. “You just get onto that ship, okay? Find Eddie, defuse the bomb and stop this crazy bitch!”

She turned as best she could in the tight space and kissed him on the forehead. “Thanks, Matt.”

“No problem. If I get out of this, you just remember that job offer, okay?”

Nina smiled. “You’re at the top of my list.”

On the screen, the symbols representing the Wobblebug and the Ocean Emperor were almost overlapping, and she could now hear a new sound beneath the churning rush of the pump-jets; a low-frequency rumble coming through the water.

Powerful diesel engines. The yacht was upon them.

Trulli adjusted the steering yoke to bring the submarine closer to the surface. “Okay, this is it! Start opening the hatch, but not all the way until I say.”

Nina turned the locking wheel as he guided the sub closer to the Ocean Emperor , switching the monitor to the camera on the hull. The image was almost completely dark and obscured by spray, but through the surging water bright spots were visible to the right.

Portholes. The Ocean Emperor was alongside them, the throb of its engines like the purr of a monstrous cat.

The Wobblebug bucked as it ran through the turbulent water thrown up by the ship’s bow. Nina clung to the hatch, almost falling. Trulli battled one-handedly with the controls. More portholes slid past…

“Okay, open it!” he shouted.

Nina pushed up the hatch. Freezing water immediately sluiced in, drenching them. The Wobblebug bounced through the waves, more water and spume cascading in as it plowed into each one.

She grabbed the coiled line they had hung beside the hatch and scrambled out to sit on the edge of the hull. At over twenty knots, the windchill instantly sliced through her sodden clothes like a knife of ice.

The Ocean Emperor loomed to starboard, a metal cliff face. The aft deck was closest to the water, but it was still over ten feet above the surface.

Gripping the open hatch with one hand, Nina fumbled with the line. A hook was attached to the end. If she was lucky, she would snag a stanchion or railing on the rear deck.

If she was lucky…

Another wave crashed over her, chilling her to the bone. Water poured into the cabin. The lights flickered.

“I’m losing it!” Trulli warned. “The jets are overheating, and the water’s shorting things out!”

“Get in closer!” Nina shouted back. She hefted the hook, ready to throw it.

The submarine edged towards the Ocean Emperor . The yacht’s churning wake made the pitching worse, the Wobblebug ’s bow leaving the water completely before smacking back down in the troughs between the waves. Even holding the hatch cover and using her legs to grip the edge of the opening, Nina could barely keep her position.

The yacht was overtaking them rapidly, the rear deck sliding towards her.

She drew back her hand. At the speed the ship was moving, she would only get one shot…

The interior of the cabin flashed with a blue electric spark, and the lights went out. “Shit!” yelled Trulli. “I’ve lost the-”

Nina threw the hook.

It arced through the air towards the rear deck, the line whipping in the wind behind it-

And bounced off a stanchion, dropping into the maelstrom between the two vessels.

Nina watched it fall in horrified disbelief, then frantically pulled the line back in. The hook clattered against the submarine’s hull. Another wave crashed over the bow, the hatch now a circular waterfall rapidly filling the cabin. The Wobblebug ’s engines were dying, and the Ocean Emperor swept past at an ever-increasing pace as the smaller craft slowed.

She grabbed the hook again, and climbed fully out of the hatch, balancing precariously on the curved hull. Below, Trulli struggled to climb out of his seat as a ceaseless torrent of water pounded down onto him.

The yacht’s stern passed Nina. She saw a surge of froth from its propellers swelling to consume them, the suction of the wake about to drag the submarine under the water- Throw!

This time the hook cleared the hull, skittering over the rear deck before sliding back as the Ocean Emperor pulled away.

The Wobblebug ’s bow pitched down into the froth-The line caught.

Nina just barely had time to grip it before she was snatched off the submarine and dragged into the water behind the huge yacht.

Trulli was only halfway out of the hatch as the Wobblebug nose-dived, its stern completely clearing the water before the whole vessel plunged beneath the surface, dragged down by the weight of water flooding the cabin. Blue flashes cracked from below the waves as the massive batteries shorted out, then the sea went dark.

Nina had no time to think about the Australian’s fate. Coughing and choking as freezing spray lashed her face, she pulled herself up the line, one hand at a time. The impact of each wave threatened to rip her loose and leave her to drown in the cold black ocean.

One hand. Then another.

Little by little, she brought herself closer to the yacht’s stern. Every time her body smashed down into the froth she could feel the propellers whirling hungrily below.

The cold numbed her hands, pain the only sensation remaining. A few feet…

She gasped for air as spray exploded all around her, trying to shake the stinging water out of her eyes. The yacht’s stern was a sheer wall of white-painted steel.

But there was something off to her side, above the centerline-

A ladder!

Access to the Ocean Emperor ’s swimming platform when it was lowered and the ship was stationary. But Nina didn’t care about its function-all she knew was that it was there , and she could reach it.

If she could hold on.

With a new burst of energy, she pulled herself along the taut line and finally reached the hull, her shoulder thudding against the metal. Muscles burning as she lifted her legs out of the water, Nina kicked against the stern, swinging herself sideways towards the ladder.

She was too low. Her legs dropped back into the water, the chopping waves like claws trying to drag her to her doom. With a yell, she pulled herself higher and tried again.

This time she cleared the frothing wake by inches. Feet slithering on the slick metal, Nina forced herself across the yacht’s stern. The line bit into her hands. The ladder was just a few feet away, getting closer with each footfall on the wet surface, closer…

Taking all her weight on one straining arm, Nina grasped for the ladder. It was as wet and slippery as the hull, her numbed fingers unable to gain purchase. In a moment she would lose her grip on the line…

She kicked at the hull one last time, screaming in fear and fury-

Her fingers clamped around a rung.

For a moment she could barely believe it. Then, determination surging, she swung across to dangle beneath the ladder. Her feet hit the water, dragging in the ship’s wake, but she pulled herself up and managed to hook her arm over another rung.

Shivering, she hung there for nearly a minute until sensation returned to her chilled fingers. Finally, she summoned the strength to climb the ladder, one painful rung at a time.

At the top, she flopped exhausted onto the teak decking, water streaming from her soaked clothing and hair. If anybody had been there to see her, there would have been absolutely nothing she could have done to fight him.