Clive Cussler: Wrath of Poseidon

“I’ll kill you,” Adrian said.

“It’s over,” Sam replied. “Do us both a favor and give it up.”

The man’s dark eyes darted about, then relaxed into a triumphant stare.

In the second it took Sam to turn, Gianni reached over, grabbed Sam’s ankles, pulling sharply. Sam lost his balance, his temple hitting the deck as he fell. A bit light-headed, he opened his eyes, looking down the passageway, and saw Manos helping Denéa over the railing of the Odysseus onto the Asteri .

But they were going the wrong direction. And it wasn’t Denéa at all. It was Remi. He shook his head, looked again, seeing nothing. By the time the dizziness passed, Ilya had struggled to his feet.

“Yes,” Kyril said. “It’s over.”

Ilya wiped the blood from his cut lip, glaring at Fargo. “I’m looking forward to killing you.”

“Not yet.” Kyril held up a hand, gloating as he looked down from his perch on the stairs. “I want him to know exactly what happened to his wife.”

“What are you talking about?” Sam asked. His gaze landed on one of the fallen air tanks near his feet.

“She’s dead. This is what I took from her right before Fayez killed her.”

Sam took in a deep breath. He focused, seeing the gold coin that Nikos had given to Remi. “You took it? Or she gave it to you?”

“Does it make a difference? She’s dead, and you’re next.”

Sam glanced at the passageway, seeing Remi just a few feet away on the port-side deck. She smiled, waving at him, her foot on Gianni’s gun. Either she was the most amazing hallucination he’d ever seen, or she was very much alive.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

In the second it took Sam to decide he really did see his wife, he heard the Asteri rumbling to life.

“What’s that?” Adrian asked.

“That,” Sam said, “is the sound of hostages who didn’t quite cooperate, like you hoped.”

“After them!” Adrian ordered.

Before anyone could make a move, the Asteri motored full-speed ahead. They all turned toward the speedboat. It was no longer tethered to the Odysseus , and was, thanks to Nikos, adrift.

“You did this!” Adrian Kyril said, his gaze landing on Sam.

“To be fair,” Sam replied, “I had help.”

Ilya turned to Kyril as he pulled a small remote from his pocket. “What are you doing?”

“What should have been done a long time ago.”

Ilya pointed his weapon at Kyril. “I’m not going to die for you, Adrian. I’ll kill you before I let that happen.”

As Sam kicked the air tank, the clatter drawing everyone’s attention, Remi slid the pistol toward Sam. He caught it, dropped and rolled over, shooting Ilya in the head. Gianni reached for Ilya’s fallen gun. Sam turned, and shot him square in the chest, then aimed at Adrian.

Holding the remote, Adrian gave a triumphant smile. “You really think you can shoot me before I press this?”

“You sure you want to do that? You’re on board and there’s nowhere for you to go.”

“I’ll die happy, knowing I’m taking you with me.”

He gripped the remote, then pressed the button.

Nothing happened. He pressed it once more, whacked the device against his hand, then tried pressing it again.

“I doubt it’s the batteries,” Sam said as he shifted his legs, then stood. “Something tells me it’s those two divers you sent down after us. I’m guessing they probably weren’t expecting us to live. Otherwise they’d have done a better job hiding those IEDs we found attached to the hull.”

The color drained from Adrian’s face as Remi stepped around the corner. He glanced at the two dead men on the deck, then glared at Sam, his jaw ticking. “I’ll see you in hell.”

“Probably not. But I’ll definitely see you in court. Nothing will make me happier than knowing you’re spending the rest of your life locked in a prison cell.”

Sam handed the pistol to Remi, then walked over to Kyril, dragging him down the stairs.

EPILOGUE

Sam had to admit that the feeling of satisfaction on seeing Adrian Kyril taken into custody was well worth the lump on his head, bruised jaw, and sore ribs. After days of police interviews, he and Remi were both grateful when it finally ended.

With Adrian Kyril and his surviving gunman being held without bail, the archeologists and the Fourni crew could finally begin the task of identification, mapping, and recovery of the artifacts.

A week later, they began in earnest. One of the archeologists who recovered the plate that Sam had used to fend off the spears, bemoaned the fact that there was a dent in it.

“It’s a small dent,” Sam said. “You’d think they’d be happy about all the gold coins they’ve uncovered so far. I’ll try to be more careful next time.” He put his arm around Remi’s shoulders. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to head back to California. I was thinking we could do with a little vacation. I know a great spot where we can go camping.”

She turned and looked up at Sam. “Any particular reason?”

“Does there need to be a reason?” He tucked his finger beneath her chin, then kissed her. “I happen to know where there’s a bottle of Greek wine chilled to the perfect temperature. And the perfect location. A cliff top overlooking the Pacific Ocean.”

“Sam, that’s not camping. That’s our home.”

“But . . . I know where there’s a tent and a sleeping bag with zippers.”

“You kept them?”

He took Remi in his arms, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek, then gave her a kiss.

“Of course I kept them.”

She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “That’s what I love about you, Sam Fargo. A true romantic.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Clive Cusslerwas the author of more than eighty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA® Files, Oregon® Files, Isaac Bell®, and Sam and Remi Fargo®. His life nearly paralleled that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers discovered and surveyed more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Confederate submarine Hunley , which was raised in 2000 with much publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collected classic automobiles. His collection featured more than one hundred examples of custom coachwork. Cussler passed away in February 2020. Robin Burcellspent nearly three decades working in California law enforcement as a police officer, detective, hostage negotiator, and FBI-trained forensic artist. She is the author of ten novels, and coauthor with Cussler of the Sam and Remi Fargo novels Pirate, The Romanov Ransom , The Gray Ghost , and The Oracle . She lives in Lodi, California.

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