Sea of Greed

Fortunately, what the NUMA submersible lacked in speed it made up for in strength. Designed to operate at depths below ten thousand feet, the hull was incredibly strong and stiff. It neither bent nor flexed, absorbing the punishment and righting itself as the shock wave passed.

Kurt and Joe were shaken around inside but remained in their seats, held tight by shoulder harnesses.

With Joe righting the submersible, Kurt looked around for their attacker.

“I can’t see him,” Kurt said, grabbing his headset off the floor and putting it back on. “Raleigh, do you have the target?”

“Negative,” the captain said. “The explosion scrambled our sonar picture. It’s going to be a moment before it settles down.”

“He blew up one set of those tankers,” Joe replied. “I’ll bet you a month’s pay he’s going for the other set before he departs.”

Kurt nodded. “Let’s get him before he gets there. Kill the lights and bring us around. He gave us a shot, now it’s our turn to surprise him.”

Joe switched off the external lights and brought them in a half circle toward the second group of submerged trucks.

Kurt pointed. “I see him. He’s coming in on the port side. Looks like he’s setting up for another bombing run. If you can get above him, I can grab on with the robotic arms.”

“I think I can arrange that,” Joe said.

He took the sub upward, turned onto a new course and then began to descend in a curving, intercepting line, dropping toward the other sub like a hawk moving in for the kill.

The flat, disk-shaped submersible was slowing as it approached the tankers. Its lights came on, illuminating the group of trucks.

Joe closed the gap, dropping faster. “I’m willing to pounce on him, but if little green men come out, all bets are off.”

Kurt got the robot arm ready to grab anything he could and kept his eyes locked onto the target beneath them. “Hit him hard.”

Joe shoved the stick forward and the heavier NUMA sub nosed over, delivering a shuddering blow to the alien-looking craft. Extending the robot arm, Kurt grabbed at a set of conduits on the outer shell of the other sub, clamping down on the metal tubes and pulling back.

Instead of speeding up or slowing down, the other sub spun like it was on a turntable and extended an arm of its own toward them.

Kurt ripped the conduits from the back of the other vessel, hoping to deny it power. But the vessel continued to operate. It pulled free of Kurt’s grasp and moved upward. As it passed the front view port, its own claw opened, releasing a block of explosives, which hit and stuck to the bow of the NUMA craft.

Joe threw the sub into reverse and pulled away, but the explosives had already attached to the hull. “Magnetic.”

The other vessel spun once again, powered up its water jets and sped off, blasting the silt as it went and creating a swirling cloud that obscured its departure.

“Neat trick,” Kurt said.

“I’d follow him,” Joe said. “But we’ve got bigger problems to deal with.”

Kurt pulled the robotic arm back, noticed that the conduit he’d grabbed and some attached components from the other submarine were now dangling from its grasp. He locked the grip.

“Might want to look at those later,” he said, switching to the second arm.

“Assuming we’re not obliterated,” Joe said. “Can you get that bomb off our hull?”

Switching to the other robot arm, Kurt stretched it out and grabbed at the explosives. But because of where they’d attached themselves, there was no way to grasp them. The best he could do was knock them with the side of the arm.

“He’s heading back for the other trucks,” Joe said. “If this bomb is linked to go off simultaneously with those…”

Kurt knew they didn’t have much time. He swung the robotic arm sideways, slamming it into the charge. A direct hit. The charge slid several inches, but the magnetic base simply reattached itself to the hull and in a position now completely out of reach.

“This is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into,” Joe said.

“True,” Kurt said. “Assuming we survive, I’ll take the blame. Any ideas? Scraping it off doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Heat,” Joe blurted out. “Heat will demagnetize the material. We’ve got to take the sub into the fire.”

“Do it.”

Joe had already turned toward the nearest fire and was heading right for it. Approaching the swirling column was tricky because of the turbulence created by the burning gas, but he managed to ease the nose of the sub into the fire zone and fought to keep it there.

The temperature rose quickly.

“No time for a slow burn,” Kurt urged. “Melt that thing.”

Joe pushed the sub farther in. It became caught in the rising vortex of flame, gas and water. The temperature spiked, the magnet weakened and the explosives slid off the hull.

“Get us out of here,” Kurt said.

Joe turned the sub and guided them free of the fire, but they’d only gone a short distance when twin explosions rocked the depths where the other tanker trucks had been.