“I like the hair,” Trevor added.
“Fast forward,” Atticus said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Remus let the video continue for a moment, long enough for it to be apparent he was either trying to torture Atticus or was too busy checking out the man’s now-dead sixteen-year-old daughter.
Trevor slapped the back of Remus’s head. “Do it.”
The video became a blur. Atticus watched as footage of Giona swimming passed by, flashes of his past that seemed like faded nightmare made real. The peaceful pod of whales appeared on the screen.
The video moved forward, and they all watched in silence as Atticus and Giona swam with the whales, touched the bull, and shared their last moments together. The first warning call sounded loud over the speakers. Atticus broke out into a sweat.
Here it comes…
The image spun as the whales’ mighty flukes churned the water. Then the second pod of whales emerged from the depths. Atticus listened as he instructed Giona to blow her air tank. Seeing the video, he could make out how close the lead bull had actually come to plowing through them.
Atticus saw Remus nodding. Apparently, even the thug was impressed.
A silver cloud burst onto the screen. Thumps sounded out as the fish careened into Atticus and the camera. At one point a single herring became lodged between the camera lens and Atticus’s body.
The image stabilized again, and the ocean returned to its calm blue glow. But what Atticus couldn’t see at the time had been picked up clearly by the sensitive video camera. The dark silhouette of the creature could be seen in the distance. It wasn’t moving toward them at all. But then the front end, the creature’s head, turned toward them as if sensing their presence. Its body suddenly undulated even faster and headed straight for Giona, as though it were seeking her out.
The creature emerged from the darkness, jaws open, teeth gleaming, then, it froze. Before them was a crystal-clear image of the front half of the creature, its mouth open wide. Giona, arms outstretched in fear, floated just inside the giant’s maw.
“Oh God…” O’Shea whispered.
Trevor got to his feet, mouth open wide. “Kronos.”
Remus munched quietly on his popcorn.
And Atticus…laughed.
What started as a light chuckle became a grotesque snicker and finally emerged as a sinister bellow mixed with tears and a white-hot glare. He shook his head back and forth, “I’m going to kill it. I’m going to kill it.”
Atticus turned to Trevor, who jumped back. Atticus had not realized the three men had been staring at him in silence, afraid he had become a madman. He kept his voice low, but the savagery behind his words was plain. “What else does the submersible have for armament?”
Trevor opened his mouth to reply.
“Be honest,” Atticus said. It was clearly a warning that only the truth would be tolerated.
“Electric-shock cables, high-yield torpedoes, and a micro nuclear dart capable of sinking an aircraft carrier…”
“I’m going to need it.”
Trevor nodded. “In the morning. When we fully understand what it is you are facing, then you can face the beast. Then you can kill Kronos.”
Atticus knew he was right, but the rage inside him needed an outlet. He could bury it for the time needed to learn about the creature, but his control wouldn’t last long. The rage boiling inside him would spew out at some point, and waiting until morning would be a challenge.
“Why? Why Kronos?” O’Shea asked, his voice quivering. “Wasn’t he the king of the Greek gods?”
“Indeed,” Trevor replied. “While the name is fitting from a power perspective, the most powerful of the gods and the most powerful of living things, but I named it for its appearance.”
“A Kronosaurus,” Atticus said.
“Precisely.”
“That’s not a Kronosaurus,” Atticus added.
“Undoubtedly. While the Kronosaurus was the world’s largest marine reptile, its maximum size was closer to forty-five feet. Our beast would have made a meal of the dinosaur. But the head shape and lower fins smack of the Kronosaurus. Perhaps they’re related; or this is simply an evolved specimen whose species survived the mass extinction and flourished in the depths?”
“Look,” Atticus said, “while speculating about its origins might be interesting to you, it won’t help how to kill it; where it’s vital organs are; how it breathes. This is what needs to be learned. The key to its death lies in what keeps it alive.”
27
Coast Guard Cutter-Gulf of Maine
As the sun set and darkness spread over the easterly sky, Andrea basked in the last rays of sunlight cast in hues of orange, pink, and yellow as it mingled with the clouds and humid atmosphere; a beautiful sky. One that would make couples swoon, cause photographers to snap pictures, and the religious to think about God. But the vivid colors did little to ease her tension or erase her fear.
Her plan of action was risky. When darkness finally settled she would slip into the ebony abyss and board the Titan under the cover of night. Her swim from the cutter to the Titan would be aided by high-tech fins designed to maximize water displacement and minimize resistance, but that was little consolation as the two boats were a half mile apart. If the Titan made a run for it, she’d be stuck in the water and the cutter couldn’t pursue until she was hauled back in.
Andrea shuddered. She couldn’t imagine how someone like Atticus used to do things like this for a living. The idea of sneaking onto a boat and searching for someone without being found out made her queasy. She wasn’t even sure that Atticus wouldn’t hand her over if she did manage to find him without being detected. While Conner had kindly welcomed her back, and her impression of Atticus was that despite his military training, he had become a loving man, that didn’t change the fact that she really didn’t know him very well anymore.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” came the voice of Captain McCormick.
Andrea was surprised to find herself standing in the dark. She’d been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the remaining light of day slip away. She faced McCormick and nodded. “I have to.”
“You realize that if something goes wrong-if you get caught-we have to deny we sent you.” McCormick sighed. “As soon as you’re off this ship, you’re on your own.”
Andrea swallowed hard. “I know.”
“We’ll move off, give them some breathing room. If they head for international waters…”
“It’d be a long swim back.”
McCormick smiled. “A very long swim.” McCormick started for the bridge. “Gear up and get in the water. We’ll pull out at 0200 hours. Make them think we headed back to port.” He paused and glanced back, meeting her eyes with a serious stare. “I hope he’s worth it.”
With that, McCormick walked away, leaving her to her preparations and doubt. “So do I.”
The absolute void experienced during a night dive always made Andrea think it’s what being in space would feel like, except for the external pressure. The cold and the emptiness, devoid of any visible light, caused eyes to strain and colors to emerge. The depths of the ocean seemed much more ominous at night, though what she’d seen that day, in crystal clarity, chilled her more than the dark water. The lonely expanse hiding dangers below tempted her to reconsider, to give credence to her fears, but she pushed them out of her mind and kicked harder. She imagined herself as a torpedo, mindlessly seeking its target. She pushed forward, not keeping track of time. It wasn’t until her mind registered the slap of waves upon a hull that she realized she’d bridged the gap between the two ships.
She’d made it.
