Andy McDermott - The Tomb Of Hercules

“Can’t we just kill them?” Komosa rumbled, clearly frustrated.

Sophia ran a hand down his chest. “Now, now, Joe. I know you’ve been looking forward to doing it, but I want the satisfaction of knowing that the very first people who’ll be killed by the bomb will be my ex-husband… and his bitch of a girlfriend.”

“You know,” said Chase, as Lenard locked Nina’s hands around the pipe, “most bitter ex-wives settle for cutting the crotch out of their ex’s suits. Not nuking a fucking city!”

“Good-bye, Eddie,” Sophia said as she turned for the door. Lenard picked up the crowbar and followed her.

Komosa waited for them to leave, then stepped forward and punched Chase hard in the face, knocking him to the deck. “My parting gift,” he said as he left.

“Are you okay?” Nina asked.

Chase spat out a gob of blood-and a tooth, the molar that had been loosened in Botswana finally knocked out. “Well, he saved me a trip to the dentist. That’s a gift worth at least two hundred dollars.”

“Oh, God,” Nina said quietly. She slumped to the floor, damp clothes clinging to her, and looked across the hold at the bomb. “She’s actually going to do it, isn’t she? She’s going to blow up New York.”

“This isn’t over yet,” said Chase. “Whatever Sophia says, this isn’t the end. There’s still time to do something. We’ve still got to fight.”

Nina rattled her handcuffs against the pipe. “Any suggestions?”

“Well…” Chase looked up at his own pipe. He had tried everything he could think of during his captivity to break free-with not even the slightest hint of success. The pipe was too solidly fixed, the cuffs too well made. “Actually, no. You?”

Nina shook her head disconsolately, then tried to move closer to Chase. He did the same, but with their arms secured, they couldn’t even get their feet to touch. “No,” Nina said, anger suddenly rising. “No, dammit, no!” She flailed her feet, desperate to make any kind of contact with him, but he was just out of reach. “Fuck!” She gave up, pulling away and curling up against the pipe, hiding her tears.

“Nina…” Chase whispered sadly. All he wanted to do right now was hold her, comfort her, but even that had been denied him.

He turned away, to the bomb. The counter ticked down relentlessly.

Less than seven hours to detonation…

It was going to be a beautiful day.

The sun climbed above the eastern horizon, the cloudless red sky of dawn turning to blue as it ascended. Stark morning shadows cut across the sprawling boroughs of the great city, the eastern faces of the skyscrapers at its heart glowing in the golden light.

New York was already wide awake. By half past eight in the morning, the streets were a crush of cabs and cars, the dawn chorus of Manhattan not birdsong but horns. People flooded onto the island, filling every floor of each of the towers. The world’s financial powerhouse was gearing up for another busy day.

Seven miles south of Manhattan, the massive span of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, connecting the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, marked the dividing line between the Atlantic and New York Harbor. Dozens of ships passed beneath it daily, few of them ever attracting more than a casual glance.

The Ocean Emperor was one of them.

Sophia stood on the yacht’s bridge once more, watching as the vessel made its way up the Narrows and rounded the jutting Bay Ridge district of Brooklyn. Ahead lay Governors Island-and rising beyond that, the glittering spires of Manhattan, alight in the morning sun.

“They almost look like they’re on fire, don’t they?” said Komosa with a hint of awe.

Sophia smiled. “They will be soon enough.”

Lenard turned to her from the controls. “The autopilot has been set and locked, ma’am. The ship will follow the GPS waypoints to the East River, then turn for shore just before the bomb goes off. Even allowing for drift, it will be no more than fifty meters from land.”

“Good,” said Sophia. “The closer the better.” She turned away from the window. “I think it’s time we left. Captain, get the crew to the plane. Joe…” She smiled. “I’ve had a change of heart. Go down to the hold and kill Eddie.”

Komosa beamed back maliciously. “It’ll be my pleasure. What about the woman?”

“Leave her.”

He was surprised. “Really?”

“I want you to make Eddie’s death as quick and clean as possible,” she told him. “I owe him that much, at least. But her…I want her to suffer.” She raised a hand to the deep scratch across her cheek. “She can spend her last few minutes looking at the body of her dead love. I owe her that much.”

Komosa took out his silver Browning from under his leather waistcoat. “Consider it done.”

“Quick and clean,” Sophia reminded him as he left the bridge, sunlight gleaming from his piercings. “We take off as soon as the plane’s ready. Don’t be late.”

“I won’t be,” he assured her with another diamond-tipped smile.

The timer reached 00:10:00, then continued its countdown.

“Well,” said Chase, “now would be a good time for any last-minute brainstorms.”

“Afraid I’m out of ideas,” Nina replied glumly. They had tried every way they could think of to get free of their bonds, with no results except cut and bloodied wrists.

Chase rattled his chain against the pipe. “I’m starting to wish I’d tried Sophia’s suggestion.”

“What was that?”

“Bite off my own hand.”

Nina managed a tiny smile. “Bit extreme.”

“It’s an extreme situation.”

“We seem to have a lot of those, don’t we?”

He nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been through quite a lot together, haven’t we? But…”

Something in his voice, an almost confessional tone, prompted Nina to sit up. “Something you want to tell me?” she asked softly.

“Well, now’s the time, isn’t it?” He flicked a hand at the bomb. “I just meant that, even though we had some problems… the last year and a half with you’s been the best time in my entire life. I just wish I’d appreciated it more instead of acting like a selfish arse.”

“Aw, Eddie…” She gave him a sad, sympathetic smile. “You weren’t the only one being selfish. I’m as much to blame. But we did have some really good times, didn’t we?”

“Yeah. We made a good team.”

“We were good matches.”

“Great matches.”

“Mm-hmm.”

They looked at each other for a moment. “I, uh…” Chase began.

“What?” Nina asked. “Nothing.”

“No, go on. As you said, now’s the time.”

“Good point.” Chase paused, gathering his thoughts. “There was a question I’d been thinking about asking you.”

Nina could guess what it was. “Since we made up?”

“No, before that. I mean, not while we were in the middle of an argument or anything. But it’d been on my mind for a while.”

“So… go ahead. Ask me.”

He gestured at the bomb again. “Well, there’s not much point now, is there?”

“I suppose not.” Nina sighed. “But…”

“What?”

“I think you know what my answer would have been.”

“I think I do.” He smiled, then let out a brief laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“Something just occurred to me. If we’d done it and decided to hyphenate our names, we’d be the Wilde-Chases. Sort of appropriate.”

“You only just realized that?” Nina said, laughing herself. “I thought of that a year and a half ago!”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “You were thinking about that right after we got together?”