Ghost Ship

Tom zipped up his dry suit. He turned his gaze upward at the live video feed of the castle coming into view in the distance.

It looked enormous from the water level and impregnable in its day.

Sam greeted him. “We’ll be approaching the entrance in about five minutes.”

Tom nodded. “Okay. Good luck, Sam. We’ll see you on the other side.”

Sam said, “You’d better.”

Tom headed down into the bowels of the Tahila, where Veyron was double checking three RS1 Military Grade Sea Scooters known as Ghosts. The underwater diver propulsion vehicles were small, hand-held, electric devices used by SCUBA divers and free-divers for underwater propulsion. They weighed less than twenty pounds each, and had a water bladder, designed to automatically control the diver’s buoyancy.

They used a heads-up display revealing GPS that worked on predictions based on its internal mapping and known locations, as well as bathymetric topography — a detailed view of the seabed and seascape ahead utilizing an array of sonar transducers.

Genevieve and Elise were already dressed in dry suits that hugged their figures, revealing both women to be fit and athletic, with clear definition of their muscular frames.

Elise had set up the dive equipment lying out on the floor, a single tank of air, full-faced dive masks, regulators, buoyancy control devices, and fins for each of them. Her head turned upward toward Tom, and said, “Dive gear’s checked and ready.”

“Thanks, Elise.” Tom turned to Genevieve. “How are you doing?”

Genevieve had an array of arms set out on the floor that would be the envy of a small militia or elite team of mercenaries. At a glance, Tom spotted a couple Heckler and Koch MP5 submachineguns, an Israeli Uzi — Elise’s signature weapon of choice, which he figured always had more to do with her interest in computer games than actual practicality — a shotgun, and a combination of gas and traditional grenades.

Tom said, “You’ve been having fun again, haven’t you darling?”

Genevieve met his eye, and picked up the SRM Arms Model 1216. “Hey, like Cindy Lauper suggested, girls just want to have fun… grab your weapons…” She turned to Tom and asked, “How do I look?”

Tom grinned.

Genevieve looked beautiful and disturbingly dangerous in equal proportions as she gripped the SRM Arms Model 1216. It was a delayed blow back semi-automatic shotgun with a sixteen round, detachable magazine. Covered in matte black, it looked like something that belonged in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hand when he was the Terminator; not a tall, slim, and wiry woman as intelligent and stunningly beautiful as his girlfriend.

Tom said, “Stunning and lethal in unequal proportions. I’ll let you decide which proportion is the bigger one.”

Genevieve smiled. “Thank you, Tom… how sweet. You think I’m more deadly than beautiful…”

Elise secured her Uzi to her backpack. “And he would be right, too… no offense, Genevieve, you’re plenty beautiful, but you terrify me half to death, and you’re on my side.”

“Thanks, Elise. So kind.”

Tom finished reassembling his Heckler & Koch MP5. He set the safety to on, and attached a full magazine, before tethering the weapon to his Sea Scooter.

Veyron said, “We’re there.”

“Thanks,” Tom said.

Genevieve secured her shotgun. “Let’s bring hell to the devil who decided to pick a fight with Sam Reilly.”

Tom and Elise grinned. “Agreed.”

Tom donned the last of his dive equipment, put the dive mask on and stepped into the dive lockout locker and into the dark, icy waters of the Narva River below.

Tom used his right thumb to depress the speed rate button, and the little propeller began to spin with a whine. The headlight positioned in front of the diving propulsion vehicle flicked its beam off the walls of the tunnel. It was as dark as any cave he had ever explored, but the visibility in the icy waters was exceptionally clear.

The navigation screen suddenly flashed green. It meant the relationship between the current outline of the passageway, based on the sonar reading, had matched with a known section of the map. The two readings became superimposed, and the computer placed an asterisk where it believed he was inside the dungeon’s passageway. He grinned. It was a good start. He clicked the route button, and a red line followed a series of tunnels, like a giant maze, beneath the mountain — where the dungeon of the Ivangorod Fortress awaited them.

Chapter Sixty

Outside of the Ivangorod Fortress, Sam shuffled forward in line.

He followed some tourists from Sweden in shorts and button-down shirts. Sam was sweating in his long sleeves but he didn’t pull them up and he didn’t dare take off the sweater. Under it he was wearing a Kevlar bullet proof vest.