crocs.
“Farewell,” Ashmont said.
Then he gunned the engine of his Zodiac and sped off into the dawn across Lake Nasser, heading back for the docks at Abu Simbel, leaving Pooh Bear, Alby, and Astro to their fate.
Water began to dribble in over the sides of the sinking Zodiac.
Standing on the sinking boat, cuffed to it, Alby felt like a passenger on the Titanic : unable to stop his craft’s inexorable sinking and destined to die on it very soon.
“OK,” Pooh Bear said between anxious breaths. “What would Huntsman do? He’d have some kind of extra oxygen tank hidden on his belt, right? Or a blowtorch to cut through these cuffs.”
“We’re out of both,” Astro said drily.
Pooh thought of the small amount of C-2 plastic explosive he kept concealed in his beard ring, but no, it was too powerful for his handcuffs. It’d blow his hand off in the process.
A large croc splashed nearby, whip-cracking its tail.
“How you doing, kid?” Astro said to Alby.
“Scared out of my mind.”
“Yeah, I’m feeling about the same,” Astro replied.
Water began to gush in over the edges of the deflating boat,pouring in, and the whole boat began to sink faster.
The water came up to Alby’s knees, then his thighs.
They would go under any moment now.
A sudden splashing nearby made Alby spin and he turned round in time to see a huge crocodile come launching out of the water at his face, jaws wide, making a lunge for him—only for a booming gunshot to ring out and the croc fell in midlunge, lashing and spasming, shot in the eye by Astro.
“Holy shit …” Alby breathed. “Oh my God, oh my God…”
The water level was at his waist now.
The boat was nearly fully under, tilting dramatically in the water.
Pooh Bear came alongside Alby. He ripped off his face mask and handed it to Alby, despite the fact it had no oxygen tank attached to it. “Here, put this on. It might give you more time. I’m sorry, lad. I’m sorry we couldn’t do more for you.”
Then, with a final inward rush, the crippled Zodiac filled fully with water and went under…
…taking Pooh Bear, Astro, and Alby down with it.
UNDERWATER.
Holding his breath, Alby felt the Zodiac pulling him downward by the wrist. As he fell through the murky haze, he could just make out the wall of the rocky island nearby.
Crocodiles lurked at the perimeter of his vision, hovering in the void, just watching the Zodiac’s slow freefall.
Then in ultraslow motion the Zodiac hit the bottom, kicking up silt, and one of the crocs moved in.
It glided through the water, propelled by its thick tail, zeroing in on Alby, jaws opening as it approached, and Alby screamed a soundless underwater scream as it rushed at him and—
—stopped.
Stopped dead, three inches from Alby’s face.
Its snarling teeth were halted right in front of Alby’s bulging eyes, and it was only then that Alby saw the great big Ka-Bar knife—Pooh Bear’s knife—that had been lodged up into the soft underside of the crocodile’s lower jaw.
Pooh Bear had reached over with his free hand and stabbed it up through the creature’s jaw, just in time.
But then Alby saw the big man’s eyes—they were wide open and bloodshot, running out of air. That lunge, it appeared, had been Pooh Bear’s last act on this Earth. He visibly sagged.
Then a second croc advanced from the other side, again coming for Alby, the smallest prey, and this time Alby knew there was no escape. Pooh was done. Astro was too far away.
The crocodile zoomed in toward him, jaws opening, charging.
Running out of air and now totally out of heroes, Alby shut his eyes and waited for the end.
BUT THE END didn’t come.
There was no explosion of pain or slashing of teeth.
Alby opened his eyes—to see Jack West, wearing scuba gear, wrestling with the gigantic crocodile, rolling and struggling; the croc bucking and snapping.
And then suddenly someone jammed a scuba regulator to his mouth and Alby sucked in glorious air. Zoe hovered beside him in the water, also scuba-equipped.
Then she dashed to the limp Pooh Bear’s side and inserted the regulator into his mouth. He came to life instantly. She moved on to Astro.
