Clive Cussler - Poseidon's Arrow

Both ships were mortally wounded, but the Salzburg was clearly in the worse condition. The ship quickly listed to port, sending more containers tumbling over the side. She settled lower as the canal waters washed over her main deck. She was sinking fast.

Pablo raced to the bridge, where Bolcke stared at the damage like a zombie. Pablo ran past him to a locked cabinet, which he kicked open. Inside was the plastic bin with Heiland’s design plans for the Sea Arrow . “Where’s the captain?” he asked. “We must get off the ship.”

“He went to check on the chief engineer.”

“There’s no time to waste, we’ve got to get to the crew boat. Follow me.” He picked up the bin and left the bridge.

Bolcke following a step behind. On reaching the main deck, they rushed to the elevated starboard rail, where Bolcke’s crew boat dangled. Pablo threw the bin aboard, then snapped at Bolcke, “Get in. I’ll lower you to the water and jump in.”

Bolcke did as he was told. Pablo took the winch controls and had started lowering the boat when Bolcke stopped him.

“Look out, on the other ship.”

At the base of the Adelaide ’s superstructure, two figures appeared in silver Hazmat suits, one of them coated with black soot. Pablo saw that the other man brandished a gun.

“I know how to delay them.” He dropped the crew boat hard to the water, then tied off its bowline as Bolcke released the winch cable. Pablo sprinted up to the accommodations level and unlocked Ann’s cabin.

For once, she was glad to see him. While she wasn’t sure what had happened, she could tell the ship was sinking and feared being left to drown in her cabin.

“Let’s go!” Pablo grabbed the handcuffs between her wrists and led her down the corridor.

Reaching the main deck, she was shocked to see the towering hulk of the Adelaide enmeshed in the Salzburg ’s side. The entanglement hadn’t slowed the degree of the Salzburg ’s list, which was approaching a sharp angle.

Pablo led Ann down the sloping deck to the port rail, sloshing through ankle-deep water. He stopped in front of a lone container that had slid to the side, smashing partway through the side rail. It stood out from the other containers, and Pablo made sure it stood out even more. He fished for a key in his pocket and removed one of the handcuffs.

Ann relaxed, feigning submission, as he pulled her close to the container. Taking a step, she sprang her knee into Pablo, just missing his groin.

He fired back in the blink of an eye, backhanding her head and sending her sprawling against the container. He grabbed her cuffed wrist and pulled it to the deck, where he latched the cuff’s free end to a loop at the base of the container. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out,” he said. “Be sure and wave to your friends.”

He turned and moved along the deck, ducking when there was a loud plink on the container behind him. He increased his pace and looked back to see a man at the rail of the Adelaide , firing a pistol at him. Pablo sidestepped down a row of containers and out of sight as two more shots followed.

Dirk lowered the SIG Sauer with disgust as his father caught up with him at the rail. They had shed the cumbersome Hazmat suits, which had left them both drenched in sweat.

“There’s a woman tied to that shipping container,” Dirk said. “I took a shot at the guy who put her there but missed.”

Pitt spotted a woman with short blond hair lying at the base of a container. “That’s Ann.”

Any relief at finding Ann alive was dispelled by observing the Salzburg ’s precarious state. The ship was sinking quickly. The gash from the Adelaide was taking her down by the beam, and Pitt could see that the ship would capsize before she went under.

“Let’s see if we can get to her.” He took off running for the Adelaide ’s bow. The whole section was mashed flat but still locked in the jagged grip of the Salzburg . The tangled beams of the sinking containership groaned as they tore against the Adelaide ’s bow.

Pitt threaded his way through the shredded steel until he could drop onto the Salzburg ’s deck. He ran aft across the ship, snaking around the scattered containers, until reaching Ann.

She looked at him in disbelief as he waded up to her. “What are you doing here?”

He grinned at her. “I heard you were trying to take a cruise without me.”

She was too frightened to smile. “Can you free me?”

He sloshed through the water to take a closer look. She was seated on the deck with her hand pinned low. Water already swirled above her elbow. Then the container creaked and slid a few inches over the port rail, dragging her with it.

“It’s a handcuff?” Pitt asked.

She nodded.

Dirk approached, and together they looked for something to free her with. Somewhere on the ship would be tools, but they had no time to search. The ship was already half underwater. And so was the container.

“It’s going to go over the side any minute,” Dirk whispered. “I don’t see how we can get her free of it.”

Pitt nodded and gazed up briefly at the Adelaide . “You’re right,” he said, a glimmer in his eye. “I reckon we’ll have to save them both.”

74

THE ADELAIDE , LIKE THE TASMANIAN STAR IN Chile, was equipped with its own conveyor for loading and off-loading cargo. The Adelaide ’s system was mounted on its starboard beam, right above where Pitt stood.

Climbing up the ore carrier’s shattered bow, he raced to a control station next to the conveyor. The collision hadn’t damaged the ship’s auxiliary power, and a generator below deck hummed when Pitt tested the hydraulic controls. The conveyor consisted of a sliding belt that could be moved alongside each hatch. Hopper cranes were fitted on the opposite side of the deck, which would pull the ore from the hold and deposit it onto the conveyor.

Pitt engaged the belt and moved it forward to the number 1 hold. He experimented with the controls until he figured out how to pivot the conveyor. Rotating it out from the Salzburg , he aimed it at Ann’s container. A separate vertical control allowed him to lower the far end of the belt, which he dropped beneath the rail.

Standing next to Ann’s container, Dirk was signaling him closer when a deep bellow sounded from the depths of the Salzburg . Containers everywhere shifted as the ship began to founder. In a slow, steady motion, the portside deck dipped toward the canal while the starboard side rose, sending the containers in a mad tumble into the water.

Pitt jammed the end of the belt ahead and below as far as it would go and engaged it. Looking out, all he could see was a mountain of containers spilling into the water. At the stern, he saw the captain and a handful of crewmen leap for their lives.

As the ship rotated, equipment, stores, and remaining cargo tumbled and crashed. With a sudden rush, the ship broke free of the Adelaide and capsized. The inverted Salzburg drifted for a minute or two, then let out a gurgle and slipped beneath the waters of the canal.

The tip of the Adelaide ’s conveyor belt dropped below water level, and Pitt thought he had failed. But the belt stammered and shook, and a beige slab appeared beneath the surface. A moment later, a shipping container emerged, riding unevenly up the belt. Pitt looked over the side to see Ann and Dirk clinging to its base, their feet dangling over the waves.