Chapter 10 - SINKING SHIP
The red LED pulsed in the dark.
One blink every second.
“The bilge tanks,” Dominic realized, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
“The freighter is rigged with C4.”
“Ten seconds, brother,” Vincent chuckled, blood bubbling between his broken teeth.
“We all sleep at the bottom of the harbor together.”
Dominic didn't argue.
He didn't plead.
He kicked the detonator straight out of Vincent’s bloody palm.
The small plastic box flew through the air, hitting the iron hull of the ship before splashing into the dark tide.
A sharp, electronic beep echoed from inside the cargo hold.
The timer was already armed.
“Mia! Run!” Dominic roared, sprinting toward me despite his broken arm.
He grabbed my coat collar, dragging me toward the terminal gates.
Leo was already sliding down the crane ladder fifty feet above.
A deep, subterranean thump shook the entire dock.
The water around the Santa Maria violently boiled into white froth.
A fraction of a second later, the hull ruptured with a deafening, metallic shriek.
A fireball tore through the cargo deck, blowing iron containers sixty feet into the night sky.
The shockwave hit us like a solid brick wall.
The wooden planks of the pier buckled and splintered beneath our boots.
The blast lifted Dominic and me off our feet, hurling us through the air.
We crashed through the safety railing and plummeted into the freezing black water of the harbor.
The shock of the cold was instant and violent.
Salt water rushed into my nose and mouth.
The weight of my heavy wool coat dragged me down into the murky depths.
My lungs burned for air.
Above me, burning debris hissed as it hit the surface, illuminating the dark water with eerie green and orange light.
I struggled to kick, but my boots felt like concrete blocks.
My vision began to darken.
Darkness crept in at the edges of my eyes.
Suddenly, a strong hand gripped the collar of my shirt.
Dominic.
Even with a broken arm, he pulled me upward with desperate, furious strokes.
We broke the surface, gasping for air in the freezing rain.
Thick black smoke covered the water.
The Santa Maria was listing heavily to the port side, burning furiously as the harbor water swallowed its stern.
“Swim!” Dominic choked out, holding my chin above the water with his good hand.
“To the seawall!”
We fought the freezing current, kicking toward the rusted iron ladder bolted to the concrete bulkhead.
Dominic pushed me up the rungs first.
My hands were completely numb, slipping against the slimy metal.
“Climb, Mia!” he urged, his face pale as chalk beneath the water.
“Don’t look down!”
I hauled myself onto the wet concrete of the pier, collapsing on my hands and knees.
I reached down and grabbed Dominic’s wrist with both hands.
He was losing consciousness from hypothermia and shock.
“Dominic! Look at me!” I screamed over the roar of the burning ship.
He looked up, his gray eyes unfocused.
“Pull!” I yelled, digging my heels into the concrete.
A massive hand reached over my shoulder and clamped onto Dominic’s collar.
Leo.
With a primal roar, Leo hauled Dominic out of the water like a rag doll, dropping him onto the dry concrete beside me.
Dominic lay on his back, coughing up seawater, shivering violently.
His lips were blue.
I threw myself across his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck to share my body heat.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered, tears mixing with the salt water on his face.
“I’ve got you, Dominic.”
He weakly lifted his right hand, his freezing fingers tangling in my wet hair.
“You... stayed,” he rasped, his voice barely audible.
“I told you,” I said, pressing my forehead against his.
“I’m done running.”
A siren wailed from the terminal entrance.
Four black government sedans sped through the gates, their blue and red emergency lights slicing through the fog.
Federal agents in tactical jackets poured out, rifles raised.
Leading them was an older woman with sharp features and a DOJ badge clipped to her lapel: Special Agent Catherine Vance.
“Nobody move!” her voice boomed over a loudspeaker.
Leo reached for his sidearm.
Dominic caught Leo’s wrist with a weak shake of his head.
“Stand down, Leo,” Dominic murmured.
Dominic turned his head toward me.
“It’s over, Mia.”
I reached into my coat pocket.
My fingers touched the waterproof plastic case where I had sealed the micro-SD card before we jumped.
May you like
“No, Dominic,” I said, looking up at the approaching federal agents with cold resolve.
“It’s just beginning.”
