'You won't get rid of me that easily. I'm tougher than I look,' she said.
Tina ran around her cabin gathering a few items. Jason watched her, feeling more uncertain about a mission than he ever had in his life. It was just before dawn, but she didn't seem tired. He knew she hadn't really slept, but it was something that he was used to. Most people wouldn't have been at their best this early in the morning, especially on little to no sleep.
Jason watched her struggle with pulling open a drawer. His curiosity got the better of him and he stepped forward and pulled it open for her. She reached in and stunned him silent as she removed a Russian GSh-18 model handgun and a box of 9x19 mm armor-piercing rounds.
'Not involved?' he said.
She laughed. 'I told you I'm not involved in the smuggling, but I also told you we are kind of on our own up here. I bought this back before I went to New York, and I didn't ask a lot of questions.'
'Mind if I take a look?' he asked.
She handed him the weapon and he checked it over. 'It's a little dated,' he said, 'but a perfectly functional weapon.' He loaded the clip, checked the action, then handed it back to her.
'Dated?' she asked.
He nodded. 'This model came out in the late nineties,' he said. 'It received mixed reviews, but overall, it's a solid piece. Have you fired it much?'
'Just a couple of times, back when I bought it,' she admitted.
'Well, the trigger pull is a little stiff, but it's consistent. The sights are okay. If you have to use it, just take your time when you fire. The feel will come back to you quickly.'
'Got it,' she said.
'Oh,' he added, 'and one other thing.' He pointed to the box of shells. 'Those are armor-piercing rounds, but don't count on them being able to do the job against the body armor in use today. They might, they might not, depending on the distance and the armor. Make sure before you get too close to someone you
She nodded.
'Good,' he said. 'Now, let's go over this one more time.'
'I do exactly as you say, when you say, and I never go anywhere you haven't told me to go, and if the shooting starts I keep my head down until it's over,' she recited by rote. 'And — I'm guessing here — I'm not to use this weapon unless I have no other choice.'
'Right on all counts,' he said. 'And if something should happen to me?'
'I take any information that we've got and call this number…' she held up a slip of paper, then slipped it into her jewelry box '…and tell them you sent me and wait for instructions.'
'Good. Let's go.'
Jason looked out the window, and then headed for the door. The coast was clear as they headed for where the quads were parked. Jason climbed onto his quad, and Tina got on behind him. They drove out to a different waiting spot for the Scorpion, on the other side of the cove. The ride on the ATV was becoming commonplace, and the terrain familiar, but he was still careful to watch for spotters as they moved along the shore.
He climbed off his quad and pulled out his handheld, then quickly typed in a code, summoning the Scorpion to their location.
'How does it know where to find you?' Tina asked.
'I've mapped this entire area with grid coordinates,' he said. 'My handheld sends out a homing beacon of sorts — a signal, with the grid coordinates encoded. It will automatically follow the signal that it receives, so long as the coding is correct.'
A small ripple of water was the only indicator that there was anything beneath the shimmering black. Jason smiled as she peered into the depths trying to discern when it had arrived. Tina jumped back as the machine made its way up the shore. Jason typed in the code on the door and waited for it to open. Tina looked inside and then at him.
'There isn't room for both of us,' she said.
'Not yet.'
Jason typed a new command onto his PDA and he could see the astonishment on her face when the interior adjusted to hold another person, shifting the cargo it was carrying.
'That's amazing,' she whispered.
Jason was a little impressed himself. 'Yeah, us superspies get all the cool toys,' he said, helping Tina climb in, and then following.
'It's a little rocky until we get in the water,' he warned.
Jason closed the hatch, cycled the air exchanger, then took the controls. The Scorpion propelled into motion, throwing Tina into his lap.
'Did I forget to mention that you should always wear your seat belt?' he asked, grinning.
'If that's the worst of it I should be…'
Just then Jason plunged the stick forward and commanded the Scorpion into the water.
'Fine!' Tina shrieked.
They sank into the water and the awkward motions that plagued them on land turned into graceful movements. The Scorpion moved like a dancer, pushing off any obstacles to give it extra momentum as they moved through the water. Jason decided to show it off a little as they sped along the ocean floor. The infrared radar showed their path. They slipped through the water like a fish, and the resistance seemed to disappear as they crept ever closer to the cave.
'How is it that I couldn't see something this big moving through the water?' Tina asked.
'The same reason they won't pick us up on radar,' he replied. 'It has a protective shield that bends light around it, making it practically invisible. It's a little like the stealth system used by Air Force planes, but better.'
'Like a cloaking device,' she said. 'Like on
'Never figured you for a Trekkie, but something similar, yes.'
They continued to travel until they reached the mouth of the underwater cave. The luminous glow from the lights on the Scorpion dissipated as they got closer, leaving only instrument navigation. Jason watched the small blips on his screen.
'So now what?' Tina's voice was tight with anticipation.
'This is where we wait.'
'Wait,' she said.
Tina sat back a little stunned. The tour of the underwater wonderland had her jazzed to find out the rest. Jason knew the thrill of anticipation that knotted up in your stomach as the trap was laid, ready to move into action.
'Yes, we wait. We need to find out who these guys are reporting to or how the trade is structured. If it's just a local matter, then I'll leave it to the locals. I'm not here to divert that plan unless it coincides with mine.'
'I know that you're right, but I'd rather not get involved unless we have to. I still think that I'm right. I can't believe anyone in the village would willingly do some of this stuff. I know that there are already a few that are guilty of the guns, but the other stuff…I don't want to believe that,' Tina said.
'I know you don't, but we're looking for facts here. If it's any consolation, what I really want are the people involved with the sub. I don't think there are a whole lot of people in the village who know about that. A sub docking off your shores wouldn't be beneficial for the village, and I think people realize that. Plus, if it was that open of a secret the information would have gotten back to my bosses by now.'
Jason punched in a few keys, and a new screen came up with 3-D images of the caves. Three submersibles looked suspended in air as the screen began to fill in.
'How are you doing that?' Tina asked.
'I put sensors in the water when I first arrived. They are tracking to the cave and bouncing information off each other and then feeding information back to the Scorpion. The program takes all of the information and compiles it into the images on-screen. It should give us a pretty good read of what is going on in the cave.'
'Why not use the sensors to find the submarine?'
'If it were that easy, they wouldn't have sent me in the first place. The sub must have a pretty good hiding
