mechanism, or one of our satellites would have picked it up by now. If it were right in front of the sensors they might have a chance to pick it up, but it's a big ocean and so far they haven't picked up anything that large. The cave has some of the same antidetection mechanisms in place, but I know exactly where to send them so they are slipping through their sensor nets for the moment.'
The three submersibles sat at their docking stations. Infrared figures were walking back and forth from each of the vehicles, loading boxes. Jason used the trackers and locked on to the boxes. Most had weapons signatures but were relatively benign. He clicked on the boxes being loaded into the third submersible, and the weapons signatures came up as nuclear. Someone very big had to be behind this, he knew. None of the locals had the resources to get the plans for the Asp, build it, plus get their hands on nuclear weapons to sell to the Russians.
Jason locked the sensors on to the third submersible. Whether or not it took him to the sub, he wanted to know where those nuclear materials were going. The three craft began to submerge and move closer to the Scorpion. Jason guided his craft farther back into the cave and waited for the cruisers to move past so he could follow.
'Did that say nuclear?' Tina asked.
'Yes,' he said. 'So that's the guy we're going to follow. I want to know where that's going.'
The first craft glided by so close they could have reached out and touched it, but it showed no signs of detecting them. The second glided closer to them and came to a stop hovering outside of the cave. There was still no sign that they had been detected, but the second submersible held its position. Jason stared at the monitor and watched the third, his prey gliding farther and farther from him.
'They're getting away,' Tina said.
'Not for long.'
Jason punched up the sonar pulse.
'What does that do?'
'Hopefully, it will just seem like a strong ocean current that pushes them out of the way a little bit.'
Jason hit the button and watched as the submersible moved back and up just enough for him to glide the Scorpion underneath it. He used the arms of the Scorpion to hug the seafloor until he was far enough away to move undetected. Jason maneuvered the controls and started pushing off the seafloor to get them closer to the third submersible, which was quickly moving out of tracking range.
'Damn, it's outrunning my sensors!' he said.
'Can't this thing go any faster?' Tina asked.
'The faster I move the more likely it is that we can be detected, but maybe we can push it just a little bit more,' he said.
Trusting that the Scorpion would be safe, he accelerated and closed in on the third submersible.
The hum of the Scorpion's engines filled the cabin as they moved through the water. The screen began to short out, blinking out of existence as the power was drawn away from the controls and to the engine.
'We have to slow down before we lose all of our systems,' Jason said.
He throttled back and tried to reboot his computer systems. The emergency system was still operational with minimal navigation and life support, but nothing else was responsive. Jason shut down the overhead switches and tried to restart it all from scratch.
'I'm not going to be happy if you kill me off in the middle of the ocean,' Tina said.
'I could get us back to shore with what we have operational now. I don't want to give up the pursuit when we are so close.'
Jason booted the system again, and the lights started to flicker on the screens. He turned his attention to the propulsion system to see if there was any part that was overloaded or needed some help before they took off again. He heard Tina laugh.
'What's so funny?'
'You computer must have put those submersibles in its memory. It's showing all three of them on-screen.'
'What!'
He barely had the word out before the second sub crashed into the Scorpion. Tina and Jason were knocked back in their seats as the Scorpion was tossed between the three submersibles like a volleyball. Propulsion controls in hand, Jason punched in a boost command, and it rocketed them forward and out of the grasp of the underwater bullies that were pushing them around.
Jason looked at the three lights that indicated various damage points on the Scorpion.
'Now
He swung it around and charged at the back of the second submersible. They were bigger than the Scorpion, but not as agile. He used one control arm to grab hold of the back and the other to slash at the oxygen system. He spotted his target and took the shot, launching the arm forward and puncturing the air tank. The pressure separated the two vehicles and sent the Scorpion spiraling backward. The damaged submersible took little time in getting away and heading toward the surface for air.
The third craft charged forward into the Scorpion. Jason saw it coming and dodged at the last second, pushing off the side of the vehicle.
'Hang on!' he yelled to Tina.
Jason hit the booster again and charged toward the first submersible. He locked in and shot a harpoon into its side from the arm of the Scorpion. The submersible lurched backward and tugged at the Scorpion as it went. They plunged toward the bottom of the ocean, pulling the submersible behind them. The pressure increased around the Scorpion, but the strong shell held up against the force of the water.
The submersible pulled away from the Scorpion, but Jason was relentless. He pushed the engines to their limit trying to drag the vehicle farmer under.
The towline broke and the submersible took off like a shot. Jason looked at his radar, but they weren't on- screen.
'Where did they go?' Tina asked.
'They're here somewhere. They must be jamming our radar.'
They both looked intently into the black, trying to catch a hint of the other vehicles. Small fish swam by, but the water looked undisturbed otherwise. Jason maneuvered the vehicle in a circle.
'There!' Tina cried, pointing up.
The two submersibles were descending on them, and Jason didn't have time to move as they crashed on top of the Scorpion. Jason guided the Scorpion lower, trying to get out of their range. The third submersible came around and Jason could see the pilot, and felt his jaw go slack.
It was his brother.
'No,' he heard Tina gasp.
Jason moved the controls forward and rammed into the cab of the submersible. A chunk of the Scorpion's armor broke as they collided. He pulled back and was about to ram again when he realized that his anger was making him a sitting duck for the other pod. He changed course and the Scorpion dived. Looking at his radar, he saw what he was really looking for and turned toward the first pod.
'What are you doing?' Tina asked.
'I'm drawing him in closer.'
'Why?'
'I have an idea.'
Tina braced her hands on the frame of the cockpit and said, 'I hope it's a good one.'
The first submersible hit and Jason punched one of the keys. A small explosion rocked the outside of the Scorpion and small pieces of it began falling away along with a small oil slick. Jason turned the pod and pulled away from the other two. Adjusting the variable on the shield, he moved the Scorpion off to a rocky outcropping and shut everything down but the radar and the life support.
'Some idea! Now we're sitting ducks,' Tina said.
'That's the idea.'
'This was your clever idea? To disable us in the middle of the ocean!'
Jason smiled and looked at Tina.
'No, that was just the idea I wanted them to believe.'
'I don't understand.'
Jason pointed at a radar image as a large submarine came on-screen. 'I wanted them to think we were out of
