‘Captain,’ Halimah says, ‘the enemy skiff has veered off.’
‘Picking up survivors?’
‘No …’ Halimah frowns. ‘They’re heading for the mouth of the underwater tunnel.’
I curse. I’ve been so focused on the Aronnax, I’d forgotten about Lincoln Base. I’d hoped that watching a monster octopus crush his ship would stun Dev into submission, but he’s as stubborn as ever. He hasn’t completely changed.
Knowing the way he thinks, I imagine Ophelia, Luca, Tia, Franklin and Dr Hewett are still being held prisoner on the island. Dev is racing to take charge of his hostages personally so he can use their lives as leverage.
I check Gem’s readout. ‘Can we disable them –？’
‘Cannons are still offline,’ Gem says. ‘Besides, it’s too late.’
The purple blip of the skiff disappears into the tunnel.
‘Our people will be guarded,’ Halimah warns. ‘When Dev arrives, he’ll dig in for a stand-off.’
‘Which is why we’ll attack now,’ I decide, ‘before he has time to regroup.’
Gem frowns. ‘Ana, the Nautilus is in no condition –’
‘The Nautilus stays here.’ I put my hand on the console and continue in Bundeli. ‘Nautilus, I’ve got to try to save our people. If anything happens to me, protect your crew. They’re your family now, whether they are Dakkar or not.’
Halimah raises an eyebrow. Aside from me, she’s the Dolphin on board who’s most fluent in South Asian languages, so she understands Bundeli well. ‘You think the Nautilus will listen to us?’
‘Absolutely.’ I hope I sound more confident than I feel. ‘Halimah, you have the bridge. Gem, you and I are taking the skiff. We’re going after Dev. We’re going to end this. Get all the guns you can carry.’
Gem’s smile makes me glad he’s on my side. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
Gem packs light.
He only brings his regular sidearms, a Leyden pistol, a Leyden rifle and a bandolier of high-tech grenades he found who-knows-where. No flamethrower, and he hasn’t dismantled the forward cannon to lug it along, either. For him, this shows great restraint.
I bring only a Leyden pistol and my dive knife. Still, the skiff is a snug fit, especially since we’re wearing dive suits and helmets. We’re not sure what we’ll be facing. The skiff has no weapons or defences. We may need to ditch it at a moment’s notice. I suppose we could take the top off and make it a convertible, but this doesn’t seem like the right occasion for a joyride.
Strapped in and sealed up, we flood the docking bay. The floor irises open and we drop into the blue. I ease forward on the throttle. The skiff responds like a Maserati. （Full disclosure: I have never driven a Maserati.） We zip towards Lincoln Base, following the LOCUS sphere’s guidance system.
‘They’ve had a week to set up new defences,’ Gem muses. ‘Could be contact mines in the tunnel. Lasers.’
‘Maybe,’ I say. ‘But at the speed Dev raced through it –’
‘Yeah,’ Gem agrees. ‘Dev tends to play an offensive game. Let’s keep our eyes peeled anyway.’
I glance over. I forget that Dev was Gem’s house captain. Over the last two years, they’ve probably spent more time together than Dev and I have.
On the side of Gem’s face, the trickle of blood has dried in a grim serpentine design. In the faint glow of his fishbowl helmet, his countenance reminds me of the bronze Shiva statue my dad used to keep in our family shrine: serene and vigilant, ready to smite evildoers by any means necessary. Maybe I can see some similarity between Gem, Dev and Dr Hewett after all – they all have the same aura of latent ferocity.
‘When we get there,’ I say, ‘our first priority is saving the hostages.’
‘If they’re alive.’
‘They will be.’ I force myself to believe it. ‘Otherwise, Dev wouldn’t be racing back to the base. We do whatever’s needed to free them, but we don’t use lethal force unless we have to.’
Gem scowls. ‘Define “have to”。’
‘Gem …’
‘I’m kidding. Mostly.’
We plunge into the mouth of the cave.
I wish I had time to appreciate how well the skiff handles. The adventures I could have in this thing! I wonder what Socrates would think if I showed up in the skiff to give him dance lessons and squid.
The thought of my dolphin friend brings me back to the present. Socrates is probably in the least danger of anyone at Lincoln Base. Still … I roll forward on the control sphere, pushing us faster through the tunnel.